Sensex up 155pts; Bankex gains 3%

The Sensex is now up 155 points at 10,370.

The BSE Bankex has advanced 3% to 4520.

Dr.Reddy's has soared over 4% to Rs 1,312. NTPC and Reliance Communications have rallied 3.3% each to Rs 111 and Rs 249, respectively.

Banking stocks are holding gains ahead of the RBI quarterly monetary policy review meet today at 1200 hrs. HDFC Bank has advanced 3.5% to Rs 755, and ICICI Bank has added 3.3% to Rs 532.

Tata Motors and HDFC are up 3% each at Rs 704 and Rs 1,108, respectively. HLL has moved up 2.5% to Rs 234.

The market breadth is positive - out of 1,984 stocks traded so far, 1,405 have advanced, 521 have declined and the rest are unchanged.