Sensex firm, up 168pts; breadth extremely +ve

After opening with a positive gap of 92 points at 8,956, the Sensex firmed up and rallied to a high of 9,077. The index is now up 168 points at 9,032.

The BSE Metal index has surged over 4% to 5,174. The Bankex and Realty index has rallied over 3% each to 4,135 and 1,522, respectively.

Jaiprakash Associates has zoomed 9% to Rs 81. Sterlite has soared nearly 6% to Rs 310.

Reliance Infrastructure and Tata Steel have rallied around 5% each to Rs 487 and Rs 176, respectively.

Tata Motors, Reliance Communications and ICICI Bank have surged around 4% each to Rs 179, Rs 164 and Rs 337, respectively.

Hindalco and HDFC Bank have added nearly 3% each to Rs 45 and Rs 836, respectively.

Mahindra & Mahindra, however, has shed 2.5% at Rs 368. Bharti Airtel has dropped 2% to Rs 560.

The market breadth is extremely positive - out of 2,028 stocks traded so far, 1,403 have advanced, 562 have declined and the rest are unchanged.