Sensex up 97pts; ITC gains 2%

The Sensex is now up 97 points at 11,717.

ITC has gained nearly 2% at Rs 184.

BHEL, HDFC Bank and Maruti are up around 1.7% each at Rs 2,284, Rs 860 and Rs 847, respectively.

NTPC, ICICI Bank and Larsen & Toubro are up over 1.2% each at Rs 126, Rs 595 and Rs 2,443, respectively.

ONGC, Infosys, Ranbaxy, Tata Steel, Cipla, Reliance Communications, Satyam and Reliance Energy have advanced around 1% each.

The market breadth is extremely positive - out of 2,162 stocks traded so far, 1,448 have advanced, 637 have declined and the rest are unchanged.