Mumbai: The SENSEX opened on a firm note and later remained trapped in only about 17 point-range at early stages on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on February 26 as speculators continued to make selective buying on the back of consistent net purchases by foreign institutional investors (FIIs).

The BSE Benchmark 30-share Index opened remarkably up at 3,631.55 over a close of 3,613.51 on February 25 and later improved further to a high of 3,648.18 before being quoted at 3,642.13 at 10.30 hours (IST).

Though local operators and retail investors were cautious ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget on February 28, the market is well supported by continuous net purchases by FIIs which have been net buyers since February 6, made net investments of Rs 465 crore during last week.

The sentiment was also aided by a strong rally on Wall Street on February 25 night. The NASDAQ Composite finished sharply up by 45.31 points at 1,769.85 on February 25.

Market sources said that the Railway Budget and economic survey to be presented in the Parliament during the day would provide indication about the Budget.

PTI