Mumbai: Equity benchmarks closed second session of the Budget week on a flat note on Tuesday as investors preferred to stay on the sidelines till the Budget gets announced (on Saturday).
The consolidation in market was also ahead of expiry of February derivative contracts and Railway Budget that both will take place on Thursday.
The 30-share BSE Sensex reclaimed 29000-mark, up 29.55 points to 29004.66 while the 50-share NSE Nifty advanced 7.15 points to 8762.10.
However, the broader markets underperformed equity benchmarks as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices declined 0.2 per cent and 0.8 percent, respectively.
Investors remained in wait and watch mood ahead of Union Budget and they also believe that the market already run up a lot, say experts. The investor mood is very positive at the moment and investors are looking for more buy ideas than sell, says Prabodh Agrawal, president and head of research at IIFL Institutional Equities.
He feels the market may remain in a consolidation phase from now to the Budget. He is of the opinion that investors should not get distracted by the Budget and continue buying the market. He does not see a major correction in the market.
Meanwhile, the Centre has accepted the 14th Finance Commission's recommendation to allow states greater freedom in tailoring their schemes.
The Centre has decided to devolve a much higher share of 42 percent of union's tax receipts to the states, a significant jump from the previous figure of 32 percent. "If the states and the chief ministers of the states are empowered with additional resources, there is every reason to believe that this money will be well spent on poverty alleviation and infra. Therefore, every spending within the territory of India whether by central government or states governments is going to add to the growth process," says Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
FMCG, capital goods and technology stocks supported the market today while oil, banking & financials, metals and telecom were under pressure. FMCG major Hindustan Unilever topped the buying list, up 3 percent.
Larsen & Toubro, ITC, Maruti Suzuki, Cipla, BHEL and GAIL were other prominent gainers, up 1-2 per cent.
However, ONGC and Sesa Sterlite shed 3-3.5 per cent. Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel and Bharti Airtel were down 1-1.5 per cent. In the broader space, HOEC rallied 17 per cent after sources told CNBC-TV18 that Sun Pharma's promoter may buy ENI group's stake in company.
Jubilant Life climbed 4 percent as its subsidiary Jubilant Generics received USFDA nod for Cetirizine hydrochloride. Moser Baer, Adani Enterprises, Kesoram Industries, Unitech, Central Bank, Adani Ports, Sintex and Fortis Healthcare gained 2-8 per cent.
However, railway stocks like Kalindee Rail, Titagarh Wagons and Texmaco Rail plunged 9-13 percent ahead of Railway Budget (to be presented in the parliament on Thursday).
The market breadth was remained weak as 1722 shares declined compared to 1155 shares advanced on the Bombay Stock Exchange. On the global front, Asian markets except Hang Seng closed higher. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.7 per cent.
European markets were flat. All eyes are on Greece as the Eurogroup is expected to mull Greece's revised list of reform proposals. Investors are also cautious ahead of US Fed chairperson Janet Yellen's testimony before Congress over next 2 days.
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