Sensex 313 points up in opening trade

Mumbai: Reopening for trade after a two-day holiday, the BSE benchmark Sensex rose by 313 points within minutes of the opening bell today on continued buying by funds, ignoring rising inflation and weak Asian cues.[caption id="attachment_74962" align="alignleft" width="380" caption="The 30-share index of the Bombay Stock Exchange gained nearly 828 points in the previous two sessions. AFP"][/caption]The 30-share index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, which gained nearly 828 points in the previous two sessions, moved up further by 313.11 points, or 1.89 percent, to 16,989.86 in opening trade today.In a similar fashion, the broad-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index surged by 112.70 points, or 0.51 percent, to 5,113.70.The market was closed in observance of 'Ramzan Eid' on Wednesday and on Thursday for the 'Ganesh Chaturthi' festival.Stocks of oil and gas, banking, healthcare and auto companies attracted the most buying interest in early trade, helping the Sensex continue on its upward journey.Brokers said even negative factors such as climbing food inflation, which crossed double digits for the week ended 20 August, and slowing GDP growth in April-June failed to dampen the trading sentiment.Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was trading 0.16 percent lower and Japan's Nikkei Index was down by 0.89 percent in morning trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.03 percent lower in the previous session.PTI