Market set for a flat close amid choppy trades

Benchmark indices rebounded from day's lows in afternoon deals on back of strong buying in heavyweight banking and IT shares.
 
Top index movers at this hour include ONGC and ICICI Bank (up between 1-2 per cent) followed by Infosys, TCS and ITC.
 
Market maintained its initial firmness into noon deals as investor sentiment got a boost following remarks from Russian President Vladimir Putin that allayed fears of an imminent military conflict in Ukraine.
 

Putin said Russia reserved the right to use all options to protect compatriots who were living in "terror" in Ukraine, but that force was not needed for now.

 
 Among other major developments, the Election Commission announced that the Lok Sabha polls would be conducted in 9 phases between 7 April and 12 May 2014.
 
At 02:30 pm, the 30-share Sensex was up 56 points at 21,266 and the 50 stock index NSE Nifty added 24 points at 6,322 levels.
 
Broader markets outperformed the benchmark, with the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap gaining 0.58% and 0.3% respectively, compared to Sensex's gain of 0.08%.
 
Activity in the services sector, the largest segment of the economy, contracted for the eighth straight month, as indicated by the HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) index. Although the PMI for services increased to 48.4 points, up from 48.3 points in January, a reading below 50 points indicates contraction.

 
BSE Capital goods index neared its 52-week high level after February HSBC PMI for the manufacturing sector rose to a year’s high at 52.5 points, against 51.4 in January, showed data released on Monday.
 
ABB India, VA Tech Wabag, IL&FS Transportation Networks, Alstom India and Thermax are trading higher more than 5% each, while Bharat Electronics, FAG Bearings, Suzlon Energy and Siemens are up 3% each.
 
The S&P BSE Capital goods index, the largest gainer among the sectoral indices, is up 1.2% or 127 points at 10,600 points, as compared to 0.38% or 70 points gain in benchmark S&P BSE Sensex. The capital goods index hits high of 10,615 in intra-day trades, is 53 points away from its 52-week high of 10,668 touched on December 9, 2013.

 
Amongst the various sectoral indices, the S&P BSE Metal, Healthcare, IT, and Capital Goods made modest gains of 0.5-0.7% each.
 
On the other hand, Consumer Durables declined by more than 2%, after registering significant gains in the past few days, as investor booked profits in index constituents.
 
Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, and Coal India were the notable gainers in the Sensex, rising by 1-2% each. Tata Power was the biggest loser, declining by as much as 3% to Rs. 77.5.
 
Among other stocks, Nucleus Software Exports surged 9% to hit a 5-year high of Rs 248, extending its nearly 10% rally in past two days, after the company said it has launched its transaction banking product suite FinnAxia for the global market.

 
Autoline Industries has soared 9% to Rs 70.30 after the company said its board will meet on March 11 to consider fund-raising options, including selling stake in U.S. unit.
 
Bharti Infratel has rallied nearly 5% to Rs 201 on the BSE, after Reliance Jio Infocomm signed an agreement with the company to utilise the telecom tower infrastructure of the latter to launch its services across the country.
 
IL&FS Transportation Networks has moved higher by 7% to Rs 115 after the company has fixed an issue price at Rs 100 per share for the proposed rights issue. The company plan to mobilize about Rs 550 crore by issuing 52.4 million equity shares.