The market was hovering in a narrow range with small gains in mid-morning trade. At 11:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 57.21 points or 0.16% at 36,121.02. The Nifty 50 index was up 24.45 points or 0.23% at 10,887.95.
Key indices opened with small losses, but recovered as the session progressed. Weak cues from other Asian shares capped gains. Broader market outperformed the main stock indices. Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.06%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 1.96%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1754 shares rose and 511 shares fell. A total of 162 shares were unchanged.
Auto shares were in demand. Escorts (up 3.52%), Ashok Leyland (up 2.77%), TVS Motor Company (up 2.52%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.88%), Bajaj Auto (up 0.42%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.25%), edged higher.
Tata Motors was up 8.88%. The company said commercial and passenger vehicles business sales in the domestic market witnessed a drop of 3% at 57,221 units as against 58,993 units sold over last year as weak consumer sentiments continued in February 2019. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 1 March 2019.
Hero MotoCorp was up 3.05%. The company reported sales of 617,215 units of two-wheelers in the month of February 2019. In the first two months of the current quarter, there has been a sequential pickup in the demand, although still lower than expected. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 1 March 2019.
Eicher Motors was up 1.81%. The company reported 14% decline in motorcycles sales to 62,630 units in February 2019 over February 2018. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 1 March 2019.
Most FMCG shares advanced. Jyothy Laboratories (up 2.64%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care (up 1.73%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 0.66%), Nestle India (up 0.55%), Colgate Palmolive (India) (up 0.38%), Tata Global Beverages (up 0.3%), Bajaj Corp (up 0.13%), Britannia Industries (up 0.12%) and Marico (up 0.03%), edged higher. GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (down 0.38%), Hindustan Unilever (down 0.52%) and Dabur India (down 0.73%), edged lower.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) was down 1.11%. Water & effluent treatment business of L&T Construction has secured orders from prestigious clients across varied states in India. L&T Construction is a brand of L&T. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 5 March 2019.
On the economic front, economic conditions in India's dominant service sector remained positive in February, with a quicker expansion in new work supporting a faster increase in output and solid job creation. Rising from 52.2 in January to 52.5 in February, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Services Business Activity Index pointed to a moderate though quicker upturn in output.
With growth of manufacturing production also gathering momentum in February, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Composite PMI Output Index rose from 53.6 in January to 53.8 to signal a solid and accelerated increase in private sector activity in the country.
Overseas, Asian stocks declined Tuesday following an overnight slip on Wall Street. China cut its economic growth target and pledged measures to support the economy amid growing challenges from rising debt and a dispute over trade and technology with the United States. China cut its growth target for this year to 6-6.5%, from around 6.5% last year.
US stocks declined on Monday, as investors turned cautious after initially cheering reports that the US and China were close to completing a landmark trade deal. Concerns that stocks are becoming too expensive on the back of a two-month rally from December lows also weighed on sentiment.
The US Commerce Department said that construction spending fell by 0.6% in December.
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