Monday, August 14 2006 10:58 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark, Sensex, rose by over 85 points in early trade today (Aug 14, 2006) on sustained buying by funds and retail investors in index-related blue chip stocks, triggered by firm Asian markets.

The 30-share sensitive index, which had closed 43.29 points higher on Friday, gained 85.52 points at 11,277.94 points in the first five minutes of trading.

Similarly, the National Stock Exchange index, Nifty, rose by 26.65 points at 3,301.00.

Stock brokers said firming Asian markets and easing crude prices in the global markets triggered buying by foreign funds heavy weighted stocks on the domestic bourses.

The major gainers were Grasim Industries, HDFC, BHEL, Reliance Industries ONGC, Maruti, Satyam Computer, Bajaj Auto, Tata Steel, Infosys Technologies, ICICI Bank, Dr Reddy Lab, Tata Motors and State Bank of India.