First trades on Dalal St: Markets open flat

The S&P BSE Sensex, which started on a cautious note, picked up momentum and rallied as much as 102 points in trade, led by gains in HDFC, ITC, TCS and Sun Pharma. Tracking the momentum, the 50-share Nifty index also managed to gain strength after a cautious start, and was trading around its crucial psychological level of 8950 levels.