Sensex up 228pts; breadth fairly +ve

The Sensex is now up 228 points at 18,035.

The NSE Nifty is up 64 points at 5,334.

Mahindra & Mahindra has zoomed nearly 5% to Rs 661. Larsen & Toubro and HDFC have soared nearly 4% each to Rs 3,653 and Rs 2,670, respectively.

BHEL has rallied 3.5% to Rs 2,258, and Ranbaxy has gained 3% at Rs 432.

Hindalco has moved up 2.4% to Rs 202. Tata Steel, ICICI Bank and ONGC have advanced 2% each to Rs 825, Rs 1,140 and Rs 1,048, respectively.

Hindustan Unilever has added 1.6% to Rs 223. Reliance, NTPC and Bharti Airtel are up over 1% each at Rs 2,609, Rs 206 and Rs 849, respectively.

Reliance Energy and DLF are also up 1% each at Rs 1,715 and Rs 841, respectively.

Infosys has slipped 1.6% to Rs 1,636. Bajaj Auto has dropped 1.3% to Rs 2,179.

Grasim, Ambuja Cements and Satyam are down around 1% each to Rs 3,009, Rs 122 and Rs 446, respectively.

The market breadth is fairly positive - out of 2,621 stocks traded so far, 1,807 have advanced, 759 have declined and 55 are unchagned.