Sensex firm; breadth fairly +ve

The Sensex has extended gains and is now up 97 points at 9,681. Earlier in the day, the index opened flat at 9,590, and touched a low of 9,558. The index, thereafter, has rebounded into the positive zone.

DLF has soared 6.5% to Rs 149. Mahindra & Mahindra has surged 4.3% to Rs 286.

HDFC Bank and Reliance Communications have rallied nearly 4% each to Rs 954 and Rs 173, respectively.

Ranbaxy, SBI and HDFC have gained 3% each to Rs 235, Rs 1,182 and Rs 1,535, respectively.

ICICI Bank and Reliance Infrastructure have advanced around 2.5% each to Rs 439 and Rs 591, respectively.

Tata Power and Larsen & Toubro are up around 2% each at Rs 796 and Rs 688, respectively.

Bharti Airtel and ONGC are down 1% each at Rs 660 and Rs 713, respectively.

The market breadth is fairly positive - out of 2,115 stocks traded so far, 1,324 have advanced, 692 have declined and the rest are unchanged.