Mumbai: The SENSEX opened moderately up and later witnessed narrow movements at early stages on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on April 18 due to alternate bouts of buying and selling by operators as well as institutional investors.

The BSE sensitive index opened up at 3,425.71 as against April 17 close of 3,421.82 but fluctuated irregularly in a small range between 3,439.47 and 3,426.56 before being quoted at 3,426.56 at 10:30 hours (IST).

Domestic operators and Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) which have adopted cautious approach in prevailing uncertainty on political front, believed to be selling in small lots in select counters.

Net sales of Rs 139 crore by FIIs in the first two sessions of current week has also dampened the sentiment.

Heavyweights like HLL, Infosys Tech, Satyam Computers, HPCL, Telco and ACC were quoted moderately down due to fresh selling pressure. While, GACL, HCL Tech, Hindalco, ITC, MTNL, RIL and Tisco showed modest gains.

PTI