Mumbai: The SENSEX opened better and even showed signs of upward movement fluctuating in a limited range in line with lacklustre activity at early stages on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on January 24 on selective buying support.

The BSE Benchmark 30-share Index opened moderately higher at 3,332.02 as against the January 23 close of 3,328.18 and later moved up to a high of 3,338.73 before being quoted at 3,333.52 at 10:30 hours (IST).

Attributing the turnaround in the SENSEX to reports that the national security surcharge of 5 per cent on corporate tax might be scrapped in the coming Budget and excellent third quarter performance by steel major TISCO, brokers said Satyam Computers had disappointed investors by announcing lower net profits for the third quarter.

Firm trend on Wall Street on January 23 also aided the sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ Composite Index rose by about 50.74 points and 28.79 points on January 23 night.

Tisco posted a growth of 711.32 per cent in net profit at Rs 280.32 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2002.

PTI