Continuing its upward trend for the second straight day today, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex moved up by another 156 points in opening trade on increased capital inflows by funds, driven by firming trends in global equity markets. The 30-share index, which had gained 82.60 in yesterday's trading, gathered another 156.74 points, or 1.71 per cent to 9,306.04 in opening trade as all the sectoral indices were trading in positive zone with gains up to 2.66 per cent. Similarly, the broader National Stock Exchange Nifty rose by 46.35 points to 2,830.25 in opening trade. Marketmen said overnight gains on the US markets and firming trend in other Asian stock markets, sparked off buying on the domestic bourses. They said a rise of up to six per cent in Indian companies ADRs on the US markets also influenced the trading sentiment. Among major gainers which supported the Sensex were RIL by 1.19 per cent to Rs 1,318, SBI by 1.39 per cent to Rs 1,106.45, ICICI Bank by 1.99 per cent at Rs 399.50 and HDFC Bank by 1.37 per cent at Rs 911.25. Among software exporters stocks, Infosys gained 0.71 per cent to Rs 1,291.50, Tata Consultancy by 1.54 per cent to Rs 507.60 and Wipro by 1.49 per cent to 227.40 but fraud-tainted Satyam's stocks fell 6.94 per cent to Rs 51.65. Besides, Larsen and Toubro rose 1.38 per cent to Rs 667, BHEL by 1.15 per cent to Rs 1354.10, Bharti Airtel by 1.33 per cent to Rs 633.20, Sterlite Industries by 3.03 per cent to Rs 275.65 and Tata Steel by 2.02 per cent to Rs 174.15. Meanwhile, US's Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.78 per cent higher yesterday, while Japan's Nikkei moved up 2.57 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 2.47 per cent in early trade today.

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