Sensex soars 100 pts; HLL, pharma stocks rally

Driven by steep rally in HLL, ICICI Bank and pharma stocks, the Sensex has surged to a high of 7,843. It is now up 100 points at 7,830, while the Nifty has advanced 21 points to 2,381.

HLL has vaulted 5.22% (Rs 8) to Rs 170. ITC and ONGC are trading at sluggish levels at Rs 1,734 (down Rs 3) and Rs 953 (down a rupee), respectively.

ICICI Bank has scaled up nearly 3% (Rs 15) to Rs 508, while SBI has moved up 1.34% (Rs 11) to Rs 819.

Dr. Reddy's has jumped 2.90% (Rs 23) to Rs 833. While Cipla has soared 4.21% (Rs 14) to Rs 336, Ranbaxy has gained 3.77% (Rs 19) to Rs 519.

Grasim has zoomed 4% (Rs 52) to Rs 1,348, while other cement counters are holding on to steady gains.

HDFC has surged 4.31% (Rs 39) to Rs 949, and L&T is up 1.13% (Rs 15) at Rs 1,335.

Satyam has added 1.77% (Rs 9) to Rs 533, while Infosys is down a per cent (Rs 16) at Rs 2,299.