Monday, March 20 2006 11:32 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: The Bombay Stock Exchange's Benchmark 30-share Index (Sensex) today (Mar 20 2006) opened with a bang and headed towards the crucial 11,000 mark, driven by sustained fund inflows into equity.

The Sensex started off on a strong footing at 10,903.25 points against Friday's close of 10,860.04 points and later surged up to a high of 10,931.99 level before being quoted at 10,903.73 at 10.30 am, up by 43.69 points over previous close.

After adjusting downward to a healthy correction at the last weekend, the market is set to cross the 11,000 level in the next couple of weeks as operators are expected to cover short positions, brokers said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and local mutual funds are the principal driving force behind the market. FIIs reported inflows of Rs 418.4 crore in equity besides sizeable purchases in the futures in the first three sessions of last week. Mutual funds also made net purchases of Rs 468.4 crore in the same period.

Zee Telefilms attracted brisk activity and clocked a turnover of Rs 51.29 crore in the initial 30 minutes of the trading. Shares of Zee Tele spurted sharply to a high of Rs 256.75 before being quoted at Rs 250.85 at 10.25 am as against Friday's close of Rs 232.20.

Operators and retail investors were seen creating some positions during early trade, brokers added.