India, Feb. 1 -- The BSE Sensex on Thursday rallied 246 points to open at 71,998.78, ahead of the general budget.

The equity market was seen as strong as buying was seen in consumer durable, energy, and FMCG stocks ahead of budget on Thursday.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) rose 54 points to 21,780.65.

The Sensex registered intra days high and low at 72,000.51 and 71,676.13 points respectively.

The Nifty recorded intraday highs and lows at 21,788.35 and 21,694.60 points, respectively.

In 30 scrips, 13 advanced while 17 declined.

The gainers were Maruti Suzuki by 2.03 pc to see 10,396.55, Powergrid by 1.81 pc to Rs 264.05, M&M by 1.52 pc to Rs 1679, NTPC by 1.09 pc to Rs 321, and TCS by 0.83 pc to Rs 3846.45.

The losers were L&T ...