Sensex climbs 211 points in opening trade

MUMBAI: The Sensex gained over 211 points in opening trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday on fresh buying by funds, tracking a firming trend on other Asian bourses.

The 30-share index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, which gained 265.57 points in the previous session, gained another 211.55 points, or 1.19%, to 17,940.16 points today, with auto, metals, banking and realty stocks leading the rise.

Similarly, the broad-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index also moved up by 63.10 points, or 1.18%, to 5,373.10.

Brokers said the investor sentiment was boosted by a firming trend in Asia following a higher close in the US market on the weekend.

They said prevailing low levels also attracted buying activity. Furthermore, covering up of pending short positions helped the Sensex rise.

Among banking stocks, State Bank of India rose 1.79% to Rs 2,631, while ICICI Bank gained 1.81% to Rs 1,019.75 in opening trade today.

Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei index was up by 0.86% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index by 0.73% in early trade today.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.36% higher in the previous session on Friday.

TOI

Congress doubles stakes in Tamil Nadu, may ask for 80 seats

CHENNAI: The Congress committee, drafted for holding seat-sharing talks with the DMK, met Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi at his residence on Sunday after the initial round of intra-party consultations earlier in the day. Though Congress leaders claimed that no specific demand with regard to the number of seats was made in the meeting, the general mood within the party is that it should contest in at least 70-80 seats in the forthcoming assembly polls, said a senior leader.

The committee, comprising Union ministers P Chidambaram and G K Vasan, TNCC president KV Thangkabalu, AICC general secretary K Jayakumar and Congress national spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan, kick-started consultations with Congress MLAs and MPs as well as former legislators on Sunday. The intra-party consultation in the Congress was like an interview in which each member was called separately for discussion, said a party leader.

Thangkabalu described the meeting with the DMK patriarch as a "courtesy call." He said: "No specific demand with regard to the number of seats was conveyed to the chief minister. We also did not demand any share in power. All that will happen at a later stage."

Congress had contested 48 seats and won 34 in the 2006 assembly polls. It later won the byelection for Madurai West constituency.

Soon after the meeting with Karunanidhi at his Gopalapuram residence, Chidambaram left for Delhi. The rest of the members returned to Satyamoorthy Bhavan to continue the interaction with the party leaders.

TOI