Sensex opens strong, up 53 pts

The Sensex opened on a buoyant note at 6,551 (up 21 pts), and soared to an early high of 6,584 following gains in old and new economy stocks. It is now up 53 points at 6,583. The Nifty, too, has resumed firm with a gain of 14 points to 2,066.

Reliance has added Rs 4 at Rs 538. While ITC has gained a per cent (Rs 11) to Rs 1,336, HLL is up 1.43% (Rs 2) at Rs 167.

Infosys at Rs 2,073 (up Rs 7) and Wipro at Rs 690 (up Rs 4) have commenced with steady gains. Satyam is up a rupee at Rs 406.

While SBI is up a tad at Rs 649, ICICI Bank has clocked a per cent gain (Rs 4) to Rs 370.

ONGC is up a per cent (Rs 6) at Rs 825, while Tata Power has logged 1.53% gains (Rs 6) to Rs 398.

Bajaj has flared up 3.25% (Rs 34) to Rs 1,070. Hero Honda and Maruti have commenced with a per cent gain each at Rs 534 and Rs 453, respectively.

Bharti has gained 2% (Rs 5) to Rs 224.