Sensex soars 97pts; banks on a roll

The Sensex touched a new all-time intra-day high of 13,569, and is now up 97 points at 13,566.

BANKS ON A ROLL

The BSE Bankex has zoomed over 3% (up 228 points) to 7288.

Banking stocks are witnessing frenzied buying. Among the index stocks, ICICI Bank has rallied 3.5% (Rs 31) to Rs 912. While HDFC Bank has surged nearly 3% to Rs 1,108, SBI has gained 2.3% at Rs 1,206.

Reliance and Gujarat Ambuja are up 1.3% each at Rs 1,280 and Rs 139, respectively.

ONGC has slipped 1% to Rs 872.