Sensex up 169pts; RIL, L&T advance 2%

The Sensex is now up 169 points at 20,981.

HDFC Bank has soared 3.5% to Rs 1,714, and SBI has surged 3% to Rs 2,474.

Mahindra & Mahindra has rallied 2.8% to Rs 833. Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications have gained 2.3% each at Rs 959 and Rs 808, respectively.

Reliance and Larsen & Toubro have advanced 2% each to Rs 3,076 and Rs 4,360, respectively.

ITC has moved up 1.7% to Rs 235. Bajaj Auto, Satyam and ONGC are up 1.4% each at Rs 2,572, Rs 419 and Rs 1,318, respectively.

Hindalco has plunged 3% to Rs 210, and Grasim has dropped 2.4% to Rs 3,430.

ICICI Bank has slipped nearly 2% to Rs 1,338, and Tata Steel has shed 1.7% at Rs 910.

ACC and NTPC are down over 1% each at Rs 989 and Rs 265, respectively.

Out of 2,900 stocks traded so far, 2,164 have advanced, 717 have declined and 19 are unchanged.