Sensex rallies further

Barring select heavyweights, buying has scaled up in old and new economy stocks, with the index gaining further ground in the mid-morning trades.

The Sensex has advanced 66 points to 6,229, while the Nifty has gained 21 points to 1,953.

Reliance, on volumes of over 6.6 lakh, is up 1.23% (Rs 6) at Rs 508. Infosys is trading firm with a gain of 1.66% (Rs 32) at Rs 1,944. While Wipro is up a per cent (Rs 6) at Rs 663, Satyam is up a rupee at Rs 385.

ONGC has jumped 1.12% (Rs 9) to Rs 791. HDFC Bank at Rs 525 (up Rs 6 or 1.17%) and SBI (up Rs 3 to Rs 585) are trading with steady gains. ICICI Bank is up a notch at Rs 344.

Hero Honda has advanced 2.10% (Rs 11) to Rs 534. While Maruti has gained 2.30% (Rs 10) to Rs 431, Tata Motors is up a per cent (Rs 4) at Rs 483.

Ranbaxy has spurted 4.57% (Rs 45) to Rs 1,029. Other pharma stocks are trading with steady gains.

BHEL has firmed up 2.54% (Rs 18) to Rs 711. Tisco, with volumes of over 9.61 lakh, has gained 2.15% (Rs 8) to Rs 376. Zee has flared up 3.85% (Rs 6) to Rs 152.

Hindalco has soared 2.59% (Rs 32) to Rs 1,284. While L&T has moved up 1.49% (Rs 13) to Rs 920, Tata Power has added 2% (Rs 7) to Rs 351. Bharti, on volumes of over 4.7 lakh, has gained nearly 2% (Rs 4) to Rs 207.

While ITC has slipped into the red with a per cent loss (Rs 10) at Rs 1,349, HLL is marginally down at Rs 149.

Metal stocks have scaled up, with the BSE Metal index showing a rise of 2.51% (up 146 pts) at 5,937 in current trades.

Sesa Goa has soared 11.75% (Rs 133) to Rs 1,267. While Ispat has spurted 6.44% to Rs 24, Gujarat NRE Coke has surged 6.17% to Rs 173. PSL and Mukand Steel have advanced nearly 5% each to Rs 134 and Rs 47, respectively. While Jindal Vijaynagar Steel has added 4% to Rs 15, Jindal Steel and Sail are up marginally over 3% each at Rs 891 and Rs 61, respectively.

Select counters have firmed up on strong buying support. Hexaware, on strong Q4 results, has flared up 10.59% (Rs 57) to Rs 592. Lupin, which has entered into an agreement with Cornerstone BioPharma, has notched up 9.27% gains (Rs 48) to Rs 562. While Mirc Electronics has advanced 7.33% to Rs 23, Abbott has moved up 6.71% (Rs 42) to Rs 670. Saw Pipes, JB Chem Pharma, Federal Bank and Maharashtra Seamless are up in a range of 4-5%.