Sensex up 409pts, down over 200pts from high

The Sensex has pared some more gains and is now up 409 points at 15,243. The index had touched a high of 15,467 in opening trades today.

The NSE Nifty is up 105 points at 4,638.

Jaiprakash (JP) Associates has soared 6.5% to Rs 214. Mahindra & Mahindra has surged over 6% to Rs 675.

HDFC and HDFC Bank have rallied over 5.5% each to Rs 1,301 and Rs 2,324, respectively. ICICI Bank has gained 4.8% at Rs 376.

Tata Motors has advanced 4% to Rs 644. Bharti Airtel, Satyam and Larsen & Toubro have added 3.5% each to Rs 785, Rs 384 and Rs 2,859, respectively.

SBI, NTPC and BHEL are up around 3% each at Rs 1,641, Rs 195 and Rs 1,875, respectively.

Out of 2,484 stocks traded so far, 1,317 have advanced, 1,100 have declined and 67 are unchanged.