Madras Cements led the pack of gainers and zoomed over 18 per cent to Rs 123.70 in the afternoon trade on the NSE. Analysts said the northward movement in these stocks was fuelled by reports that cement prices in South India have risen by Rs 25-40 per 50-kg bag.

The sharpest price hike has been reported in the Andhra Pradesh market.

Ambuja Cement zoomed 7.74 per cent and was quoting at Rs 136.20 in the afternoon trade on the National Stock Exchange.

The scrip had jumped 8.61 per cent in early trade. In a similar trend, ACC increased 5.59 per cent and was trading at Rs 953.40 on the NSE.

These two stocks were the top two gainers in the pack of 50-bluechip companies on the Nifty, the benchmark index of the National Stock Exchange.

Ultratech Cement was quoting 5.5 per cent higher at Rs 974.50. Jaiprakash Associates too was 2.44 per cent higher.