Sensex ends 263 pts up

The Sensex has finally ended (provisional) at 16,895, up 263 points.

The Nifty ended (provisional) at 5,026, up 84 points.
_______________________________________________

(Updated at 1504 hrs)

The Sensex is now at 16,926, up 294 points. The NSE Nifty is at 5,035, up 92 points.

Bharti Airtel and Tata Motors have advanced 5% each to Rs 298 and Rs 661, respectively.

Tata Steel and Hindalco have soared over 4.5% each to Rs 572 and Rs 139, respectively.

Jaiprakash Associates, Sterlite and Reliance Communications have added 3.5% each at Rs 228, Rs 861 and Rs 172, respectively.

ONGC, HDFC, ICICI Bank, TCS and Reliance were the other prominent gainers, up 2% each.

Hero Honda on the other hand has slipped 1% to Rs 1,727 and SBI is down 0.5% at Rs 2,234, respectively.

The market breadth remains positive, out of 2,790 shares traded, 2,043 have advanced and 674 have declined so far on the BSE.

The metal index remains the top gainer among the sectoral indices, up 4% at 16,304.