Sensex up 445pts; breadth fairly +ve

The Sensex is now up 445 points at 17,774.

NTPC has zoomed 6.3% to Rs 219. Reliance Communications has soared 5.8% to Rs 647.

Reliance Energy has surged 5.4% to Rs 1,422. ONGC has soared nearly 5% to Rs 1,046.

Satyam, Infosys and ICICI Bank have rallied around 3% each to Rs 456, Rs 1,948 and Rs 1,089, respectively.

HDFC and TCS have moved up nearly 2.5% each to Rs 2,568 and Rs 1,063, respectively.

Grasim, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, ACC, Bharti Airtel and Tata Steel are up over 2% each.

The market breadth is fairly positive - out of 2,370 stocks traded so far, 1,656 have advanced, 660 have declined and 54 are unchanged.