Sensex up 11 pts, L&T advances

Afer a dull opening, the market has gained ground in mid-morning trades. The Sensex, on steady buying in select old economy stocks, is now up 11 points at 6,600. The Nifty, too, has recovered from its early weakness, and has gained four points to 2,062.

The breadth of the market is positive with 1,334 gainers and 742 losers, while 94 scrips are unchanged on the BSE.

Reliance has upped its gains by 1.20% (Rs 6) to Rs 546. ITC, after a subdued opening, has added a per cent (Rs 9) to Rs 1,293. HLL is up a notch at Rs 146.

ONGC is trading with a steady gain of Rs 3 at Rs 813.

Grasim and ACC are up a per cent each at Rs 1,355 (up Rs 7) and Rs 366 (up Rs 2), respectively. Gujarat Ambuja is up a rupee at Rs 445.

L&T has flared up 2.67% (Rs 29) to Rs 1,096, while Hindalco has moved up 1.14% (Rs 15) to Rs 1,373, after exhibiting losses yesterday. Tisco is up a per cent (Rs 3) at Rs 415.

SBI is marginally down at Rs 681. While HDFC Bank is trading weaker by a per cent (Rs 4) at Rs 557, ICICI Bank is down a tad at Rs 375.

Infosys has slipped a per cent (Rs 14) to Rs 2,148. Satyam (down Rs 2 to Rs 402) and Wipro (down Rs 3 to Rs 680) are also trading lower.

Textile stocks have firmed up on strong buying support. Indo Rama Synthetics has jumped 5.41% to Rs 76, while Bombay Dyeing has gained 5.26% to Rs 242. Century Textiles has added 4.96% to Rs 223, and Jaiprakash Associates is up 4% at Rs 194. Raymond has moved up 3.13% to Rs 321.

Bank of Punjab has clocked a volume of over 62.92 lakh on the BSE, followed by JCT (34.5 lakh), Bank of Rajasthan (21.30 lakh) and IFCI (21.3 lakh), respectively.