Sensex pares gains, up 173pts; Ranbaxy slips 2%

The Sensex opened with a positive gap of 258 points at 9,161, and soon touched a high of 9,183. The index, thereafter, has pared gains and is now up 173 points at 9,076.

HDFC Bank has soared nearly 5% to Rs 872. Reliance Infrastructure and ICICI Bank have surged around 4.5% each to Rs 528 and Rs 337, respectively.

Jaiprakash Associates and Sterlite have rallied over 4% each to Rs 60 and Rs 224, respectively.

Wipro has gained nearly 4% at Rs 243, and Satyam has added 3.5% to Rs 238.

ONGC has moved up nearly 3% to Rs 698. Tata Motors and Tata Power are up 2.5% each at Rs 137 and Rs 669, respectively.

Ranbaxy, however, has slipped 2.5% to Rs 209.