Sensex up 188pts; breadth extremely +ve

The Sensex is now up 188 points at 16,669.

The NSE Nifty is up 61 points at 5,019.

Tata Steel has soared 6.7% to Rs 763. Bharti Airtel and Jaiprakash Associates have surged over 5% each to Rs 865 and Rs 229, respectively.

Hindalco and Ranbaxy have rallied around 3.5% each to Rs 193 and Rs 496, respectively. Reliance Communications has advanced over 3% to Rs 546.

Grasim has moved up 2.7% to Rs 2,639. Larsen & Toubro and HDFC Bank have added 2.5% each to Rs 2,845 and Rs 1,430, respectively.

NTPC has gained 1.7% at Rs 193, and Cipla has moved up 1.4% to Rs 225.

Maruti, Tata Motors, Reliance Energy and Mahindra & Mahindra are up 1% each at Rs 769, Rs 625, Rs 1,349 and Rs 645, respectively.

Satyam and Infosys have slipped 1.3% each to Rs 463 and Rs 1,645, respectively.

The market breadth is extremely positive - out of 2,652 stocks traded so far, 2,026 have advanced, 591 have declined and 35 are unchanged.