Sensex steady; Cipla, Ranbaxy up 4%

The NSE Nifty is up 21 points at 4,113.

Cipla and Ranbaxy have surged nearly 4% each to Rs 223 and Rs 454, respectively.

SBI has rallied 3.5% to Rs 1,345. ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank have advanced over 3% each to Rs 637 and Rs 1,066, respectively.

Reliance Communications and Hindustan Unilever have gained 3% each at Rs 448 and Rs 226, respectively.

NTPC has moved up 2.7% to Rs 178, and Jaiprakash Associates has added 2% to Rs 164.

TCS has advanced 1.5% to Rs 806. Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel and ITC are up over 1% each at Rs 526, Rs 600 and Rs 178, respectively.

Satyam has plunged 3.5% to Rs 370, and Bharti Airtel has shed 3.3% at Rs 776.

Ambuja Cements has tumbled nearly 3% to Rs 80. Larsen & Toubro and BHEL have slipped over 1.5% each to Rs 2,505 and Rs 1,506, respectively.

HDFC is down over 1% at Rs 2,042.

Out of 2,507 stocks traded so far, 1,393 have declined, 1,042 have advanced and 72 are unchanged.