Sensex firms up; Tata Steel up 5%

The Sensex firmed up and touched a high of 9,445. The index is now up 125 points at 9,426.

Tata Steel has soared 4.8% to Rs 195. Jaiprakash Associates and HDFC have surged around 4.5% each to Rs 72 and Rs 1,474, respectively.

Sterlite has rallied nearly 4% to Rs 275. Reliance Infrastructure and ONGC have gained around 3% each at Rs 557 and Rs 701, respectively.

Hindalco and ICICI Bank have moved up 2.3% each to Rs 45 and Rs 416, respectively.

Tata Motors has advanced nearly 2% to Rs 140. Sun Pharma, Larsen & Toubro, Maruti and Reliance are up around 1.5% each.

Wipro and Mahindra & Mahindra have declined 1.3% each to Rs 221 and Rs 271, respectively.

The market breadth is fairly positive - out of 2,336 stocks traded so far, 1,372 have advanced, 869 have declined and the rest are unchanged.