Sensex up 149pts; ITC, HDFC soar 5%

The Sensex is now up 149 points at 16,489.

The NSE Nifty is up 39 points at 4,903.

ITC and HDFC have zoomed around 5.5% each to Rs 195 and Rs 2,776, respectively.

Satyam has soared 5% to Rs 427. Infosys has surged 4.7% to Rs 1,486. Wipro has rallied 3.3% to Rs 431, and TCS has added 3% to Rs 880.

Maruti has advanced 3.8% to Rs 940. NTPC and ONGC have moved up nearly 3% each to Rs 196 and Rs 986, respectively.

Tata Steel has gained 2.4% at Rs 796. Hindalco and Reliance Communications are up 2% each at Rs 204 and Rs 525, respectively.

Reliance Energy has plunged nearly 4% to Rs 1,447.

Bajaj Auto has tumbled 2.7% to Rs 2,140, and Bharti Airtel has dropped 2.3% to Rs 751.

HDFC Bank and Hindustan Unilever have shed 1.6% each at Rs 1,335 and Rs 225, respectively.

SBI and Mahindra & Mahindra are down over 1% each at Rs 1,851 and Rs 696, respectively.

Out of 2,711 stocks traded so far, 1,995 have declined, 668 have advanced and 48 are unchanged.