Sensex opens firm on tech gains, up 43 pts

The Sensex opened with a strong positive gap of 31 points at 6,330. Steep rally in tech stocks and steady gains in other select old economy counters lifted the index to an early intra-day high of 6,374.

The Sensex is now up 43 points at 6,342, while the Nifty has moved up 12 points to 1,961.

Wipro has vaulted 6.25% (Rs 38) to Rs 644. While Infosys has advanced 1.63% (Rs 32) to Rs 1,976, Satyam has gained 1.72% (Rs 7) to Rs 403.

ONGC has gained a per cent (Rs 7) to Rs 858. Reliance and HLL are up a rupee each at Rs 544 and Rs 132, respectively.

ICICI Bank has clocked a per cent gain (Rs 4) to Rs 388, and SBI is up a rupee at Rs 629. HDFC Bank, however, is marginally down at Rs 544.

HPCL is up a per cent (Rs 3) at Rs 325.

Auto, cement and pharma counters have commeced on a mixed note.