Sensex up 309pts; Reliance soars 5%

The Sensex is now up 309 points at 17,658.

The NSE Nifty is up 94 points at 5,205.

ACC has zoomed nearly 6% to Rs 819. Reliance has soared nearly 5% to Rs 2,548.

Reliance Energy, Ambuja Cements and Maruti have surged over 4.5% each to Rs 1,628, Rs 123 and Rs 802, respectively.

Wipro has rallied over 4% to Rs 440. Grasim and NTPC have moved up over 3% each to Rs 2,886 and Rs 204, respectively.

Satyam and Ranbaxy have gained 2.7% each at Rs 451 and Rs 421, respectively. Hindalco has added 2.4% to Rs 197.

Larsen & Toubro, ONGC and Infosys have advanced 2% each to Rs 3,505, Rs 1,017 and Rs 1,610, respectively.

Bajaj Auto has plunged over 4% to Rs 2,201. HDFC Bank has dropped 3.6% to Rs 1,422.

Out of 2,720 stocks traded so far, 1,597 have declined, 1,050 have advanced and 73 are unchanged.