Mumbai: The SENSEX opened marginally up and later improved further in line with fresh upsurge in key stocks at early stages on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on May 13 on consistent buying support from operators as well as institutional investors.

The BSE benchmark 30-share index opened slightly up at 3,436.87 as against previous close of 3,431.32 and later moved upwards to 3,442.92 at 10:45 hours (IST).

Discounting a sharp fall in the Dow Jones industrial average by about 98 points and a loss of 49.62 points in the NASDAQ composite index last weekend, majority of shares showed signs of improvements on fresh buying.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), which generally kept low profile, have turned net buyers to the tune of Rs 135 crore during four sessions from May 6 to 9.

Besides PSU stocks like BEL, HPCL, IPCL, BPCL and MTNL, which have become the market favourites, Cement stocks too rallied smartly on reports that this sector is going to fare well following continued demand from housing with roads adding to the robust growth.

Software stocks, however, have come under pressure due to depressed trend in the NASDAQ.

PTI