Sensex up 342pts; Hind Unilever surges 6%

The Sensex from a high of 18,185, pared gains and touched a low of 17,849 - an intra-day drop of 336 points. The index is now up 342 points at 17,936.

The NSE Nifty is up 72 points at 5,275.

Hindustan Unilever has zoomed 6.4% to Rs 202, and ICICI Bank has soared 6% to Rs 1,219.

HDFC has surged 5.5% to Rs 2,670. ITC, BHEL and OGNC have rallied around 4% each to Rs 201, Rs 2,230 and Rs 1,028, respectively.

Reliance Communications and Satyam have advanced over 3% each to Rs 635 and Rs 405,  respectively.

Infosys has gained 2.5% at Rs 1,458. ACC, Bajaj Auto, Maruti and Ranbaxy are up around 2% each at Rs 766, Rs 2,260, Rs 840 and Rs 357, respectively.

Ambuja Cements has slipped nearly 2% to Rs 117. NTPC has shed 1.4% at Rs 221.