<b>Nifty @ 5K</b>; Sensex up 221pts; REL up 7%

The Sensex is now up 221 points at 17,142.

The index opened with a positive gap of 139 points at 17,060, and soon surged to a high of 17,158.

REL has rallied 7.28% to Rs 1,101. Infosys has advanced nearly 5.27% to Rs 1,920.50.

Cipla, ACC and ONGC are all up more than 3% at Rs 176.05, Rs 1,193.85 and Rs 966 respectively.

Satyam has jumped nearly 3% to Rs 443.90. Tata Steel, M&M, TCS and ITC are the other gainers.

Hindustan Unilever has shed more than 1% to Rs 222. Ambuja Cements and Bharti-Airtel are down nearly 1% each.

The NSE Nifty today crossed the 5000-mark for the first time ever. It is now up 60 points at 5,000.