Sensex up 324pts; HDFC, ICICI up 5%

The Sensex is now up 324 points at 15,951.

The NSE Nifty is up 78 points at 4,818.

Jaiprakash (JP) Associates has zoomed 6% to Rs 239. HDFC and ICICI Bank have soared nearly 5% each to Rs 2,475 and Rs 793, respectively.

Infosys has surged over 4% to Rs 1,480. SBI, Satyam and HDFC Bank have rallied over 3% each to Rs 1,677, Rs 410 and Rs 1,348, respectively.

Wipro and Bharti Airtel have moved up 2.8% each to Rs 420 and Rs 827, respectively.

BHEL and Reliance Energy have slipped around 1.5% each to Rs 1,862 and Rs 1,270, respectively.

Out of 2,659 stocks traded so far, 2,049 have advanced, 562 have declined and 48 are unchanged.