Sensex firm, up 166pts; breadth +ve

The Sensex touched a high of 9,862, and is now up 166 points at 9,833.

Larsen & Toubro has soared 5% to Rs 655, and BHEL has surged 4.5% to Rs 1,550.

Tata Motors has rallied 3.5% to Rs 166. ITC, Maruti and Tata Steel have gained 3.3% each at Rs 183, Rs 758 and Rs 201, respectively.

Hindalco and HDFC have moved up nearly 3% each to Rs 51 and Rs 1,642, respectively.

TCS and SBI have advanced 2.5% each to Rs 539 and Rs 1,075, respectively.

NTPC and ONGC have added 2% each to Rs 180 and Rs 778, respectively.

Ranbaxy and DLF, however, have slipped 1% each to Rs 161 and Rs 175, respectively.

The market breadth is positive - out of 2,424 stocks traded so far, 1,366 have advanced, 956 have declined and the rest are unchanged.