Sensex ends up 161pts

Late-noon session

The Sensex has finally ended (provisional) at 17,009, up 161 points

The NSE Nifty has ended (provisional) at 5,051, up 52 points.
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(Updated at 1456hrs)

After a firm opening on the back of Asian markets, the Sensex touched a high of 17,083 - up 234 points. Through the day, the index was more-or-less steady and remained range bound. Auto, metal and realty stocks helped the market to remain strong, crossing the 17,000 mark again.

The Sensex is now up 17,059 points at 210.

The Nifty also marched past 5,000 and is now up 64 points at 5,064.

The BSE auto and realty index have gained 3% each at 6,972 and 4,008, respectively. Metal, oil & gas and bankex have also moved up.

INDEX MOVERS...

Maruti Suzuki has surged 5.3% to Rs 1,559. Hero Honda has pared some of its gains and is now up 4% at Rs 1,640. Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra have added 2% each.

DLF has gained 4.6% at Rs 386. Reliance Communications has advanced 3.7% to Rs 180.

Tata Steel, Sterlite and Hindalco have moved up around 3% each to Rs 538, Rs 861 and Rs 135, respectively.

Index heavy-weight, Reliance and ICICI Bank have contributed most in points term. Reliance has added 1.5% to Rs 5,149 while ICICI Bank is up 1.3% at Rs 923.

...AND SHAKERS

However, IT stocks have slipped. TCS and Infosys have dropped 1% each.

The market breadth is positive. Out of 2,806 stocks traded 64% have advanced while 32% have declined.