Markets have bounced back strongly after a very weak opening. Banking stocks and ONGC are leading the rally

Sensex is trading higher by 143 points at 10229 at 01.30 PM.

Nifty is trading higher by 46 points at 2991.

Banking stocks are leading the surge in early afternoon trades. ICICI Bank is the biggest gainer among index stocks, trading nearly 6.5 per cent higher. PNB has also added over 6 per cent.

OBC has gained 4.5 per cent and HDFC Bank is trading more than 3.5 per cent higher. SBI has added over 2.5 per cent.

Among technology stocks, Satyam and TCS are trading with gains of around 3 per cent each.

Index heavyweight ONGC has added over 2.5 per cent and is providing considerable strength to the indices.

Among engineering stocks, L&T has added close to 3 per cent while BHEL is trading nearly 2.5 per cent higher.

Stocks of smaller PSU banks are among the biggest gainers. Vijaya Bank has added more than 11 per cent. Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Bank of Rajasthan and Syndicate Bank are all trading with gains of around 7 per cent each.

Metal stocks remain weak, though they have recovered from their morning lows. Nalco remains the biggest loser among index stocks, trading 3.5 per cent lower. Hindalco is down close to 2 per cent while SAIL is trading 2.5 per cent lower.

Gail India, Zee Tele, BPCL, Cipla, Siemens and HPCL are the other major losers among index stocks.

Smaller stocks have not recovered fully from their early losses. The NSE mid-cap index is trading around 0.3 per cent lower. . The BSE mid-cap index is trading close to 0.5 per cent lower while the BSE small-cap index is down over a per cent.

Andhra Sugar, Mphasis BFL and Shrenuj are among the major mid-cap gainers.

Select sugar stocks are weak in early afternoon trades. Uttam Sugar, Dhampur Sugar and Simbhaoli Sugar are among the losers.

Flex Engineering, HMT and Wheels India are the major mid-cap losers.