Markets firm; breadth fairly +ve
The Sensex touched a high of 17,062, and is now up 202 points 17,051.
Auto, metal and realty stocks continue to lead the up move, even as IT stocks witness some profit-taking.
The NSE Nifty is up 62 points at 5,061.
Maruti has soared over 4% to Rs 1,541. Sterlite and Tata Steel have surged over 3% each to Rs 865 and Rs 538, respectively.
SBI, Hero Honda and Sun Pharma have also gained 3% each at Rs 2,368, Rs 1,626 and Rs 1,495, respectively.
Tata Motors and DLF has advanced 2.8% each to Rs 637 and Rs 379, respectively.
Hindalco, Grasim, Mahindra & Mahindra and ACC are up around 2% each.
TCS, however, has slipped 1% to Rs 663. Wipro and Infosys are the only other losers among the Sensex stocks.
The market breadth is fairly positive - out of 2,544 stocks traded so far, 1,737 have advanced, 722 have declined and the rest are unmoved.