Sensex rallies over 200pts, up 2.5%

After opening with a positive gap of 92 points at 8,956, the Sensex firmed up and rallied to a high of 9,089. The index is now up 204 points at 9,068.

The BSE Realty index has soared 5.7% to 1,555. The Metal index has rallied nearly 5% to 5,214, and the Bankex has gained 3.6% at 4,152.

Jaiprakash Associates has zoomed over 9% to Rs 81. DLF and Sterlite have soared over 6% each to Rs 169 and Rs 311, respectively.

Reliance Infrastructure has surged nearly 6% to Rs 491. Hindalco, Tata Steel and Reliance Communications have rallied around 5% each to Rs 46, Rs 177 and Rs 166, respectively.

ICICI Bank and Tata Motors have gained 4% each at Rs 337 and Rs 179, respectively.

HDFC Bank, BHEL and Reliance have moved up nearly 4% each to Rs 857, Rs 1,451 and Rs 1,349, respectively.

Larsen & Toubro and Ranbaxy have advanced over 3% each to Rs 637 and Rs 149, respectively.

Wipro and TCS have added nearly 3% each to Rs 234 and Rs 511, respectively.

SBI and ONGC are up 2.5% each at Rs 973 and Rs 733, respectively.

Mahindra & Mahindra, however, has slipped 1.5% to Rs 372, and Bharti Airtel has declined 1% to Rs 557.

The market breadth is extremely positive - out of 2,225 stocks traded so far, 1,538 have advanced, 606 have declined and the rest are unchanged.