Sensex holds 29,000; FMCG, Capital Goods stocks lead

Benchmark indices are trading higher amid choppy trades led by a smart rally in the capital goods stocks and shares of FMCG companies.

At 1.40 PM, the 30-share Sensex is up 60 points at 29,035 and the 50-share Nifty has gained 20 points at 8,775.

HUL, ITC, BHEL, L&T and Cipla are the top five stocks on the BSE and are up between 1-2%.

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(updated at 1.40 PM)

Benchmark indices have turned marginally weak, amid range-bound trading, as the losses in oil, banks and select auto stocks have wiped off the gains in select index heavyweights like ITC and Infosys and capital goods shares.   
 
At 12:56 PM, the 30-share Sensex was down 32 points at 28,943 and the 50-share Nifty was down 9 points at 8,746.  
 
In the broader market, both the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices, down 0.1% and 0.7% each have performed worse than the front-liners. Market breadth in BSE is negative with 1,589 declines against 971 advances.    
 
Trading is expected to remain volatile in this extended week on F&O expiry due on February, 26 and ahead of the presentation of Railway Budget due on February 26, annual economic outlook survey and Union Budget on subsequent days.
 
Among global cues, investors will watch for Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's testimony on the economy and monetary policy before the US Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday.
 
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors turned net buyers in Indian equities to the tune of Rs 602 crore on Monday, as per provisional stock exchange data.
 
Buzzing Stocks
 
6 of the 12 sectoral indices of BSE are in green. BSE FMCG, up 1% is the top gainer followed by BSE Realty and IT indices, up 0.7% and 0.5% each. BSE Oil & Gas index, down 1.4% is the top loser followed by BSE Metal index, down 0.9%.  
 
IT stocks are trading higher. Wipro, Infosys and TCS have gained between 0.4 % and 0.6% each. Infosys is learnt to be in the process of making one more investment in a company which develops cloud-based air quality detectors.
 
FMCG majors, ITC and HUL have gained 1.3% and 1.6% each.  ITC has gained after it won the bid to acquire Park Hyatt Hotel property in Goa owned by Blue Coast Hotels that had been put up for public auction by IFCI.
 
Among capital goods stocks, L&T has gained over 1% and BHEL is up 1.2%.
 
NTPC has gained 1.4%. According to media reports, NTPC has said that it will supply an additional 1,657 Megawatt to the state of Uttar Pradesh in two years.
 
Maruti Suzuki has gained 0.7%. The company today launched refreshed version of its popular compact sedan Dzire with introductory prices ranging from Rs 5.07 lakh to Rs 7.81 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
 
Sesa Sterlite is trading down 2.8% on profit-booking. Yesterday, the stock had gained over 1% after the company's subsidiary Balco secured one more coal block in the first tranche of auction. Tata Steel is down 1.6% and Hindalco has lost 0.8%.
 
ONGC has shed 2.7%. The company's well in Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh where gas had started to escape after its pressure became uncontrollable was inspected by company's experts who resolved the issues with the ‘Gas escaping equipment’ installed at the well. RIL has lost over 1% while GAIL is up 0.6%.