Sensex up 156pts; Bankex advances 3%

The Sensex is now up 156 points at 10,372.

The BSE Bankex has advanced nearly 3% to 4515.

Banking stocks continue to hold gains ahead of the RBI quarterly monetary policy review in a short while from now.  HDFC Bank has soared over 4% to Rs 760. ICICI Bank has added 3.3% to Rs 532.

Dr.Reddy's has gained 4% at Rs 1,308. NTPC and Reliance Communications have rallied 3.5% each to Rs 111 and Rs 249, respectively.

Tata Motors, HDFC and HLL have added 3% each to Rs 704, Rs 1,108 and Rs 235, respectively.

ACC and Cipla are up 2% each at Rs 806 and Rs 220, respectively.

The market breadth is positive - out of 2,074 stocks traded so far, 1,433 have advanced, 584 have declined and the rest are unchanged.