Sensex up 18pts; breadth -ve

The Sensex is now up 18 pooints at 16,341.

Mahindra & Mahindra has zoomed 4.4% to Rs 774. Larsen & Toubro has soared 3.5% to Rs 2,763.

ITC has surged 2.5% to Rs 192. Tata Motors and Reliance Energy have rallied 2% each to Rs 737 and Rs 964, respectively.

Grasim has moved up 1.7% to Rs 3,385. Hindalco has advanced 1.3% to Rs 162.

Bharti Airtel and ONGC are up 1% each at Rs 895 and Rs 910, respectively.

Infosys and Wipro have tumbled around 3% each to Rs 1,801 and Rs 435, respectively. TCS and Satyam have dropped 2% each to Rs 1,002 and Rs 420, respectively.

Ranbaxy has shed 1.5% to Rs 407. Ambuja Cements, Maruti and Hindustan Unilever are down 1% each to Rs 146, Rs 915 and Rs 214, respectively.

The market breadth is negative - out of 2,801 stocks traded so far, 1,488 have declined, 1,249 have advanced and 64 are unchanged.