Mumbai, Feb 26 (IANS) India's markets barometer, the 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), opened marginally higher Friday, ahead of the presentation of the federal budget for the next fiscal.

The index opened at 16,255.33 points when trading began and soon shot up to 16,335.03 points, before hovering around 16,315.16 points, with a gain of 60.96 points, or 0.38 percent, over the previous close.

The breadth of the market ahead of the budget was positive with just two out of the 13 sector-specific indices -- those for technology and IT stocks -- in the red. All the others, led by that for oil and gas, were in the green.

The Sensex had opened Thursday at 16,264.1 points, but closed at 16,254.2 points, down 1.77 points or 0.01 percent from its previous close, despite some strong numbers for India's growth projected by the annual Economic Survey.