Sensex, Nifty sluggish; defence stocks rally, Cap Goods index up

Moneycontrol Bureau11:55 am New roads: The Centre will build 2.40 lakh kilometer-long roads across the country by the end of 2019, Union Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh said here today.

"2.40 lakh kilometer long roads would be constructed across the country by the end of 2019 and every homeless will be provided home by that time," the Union Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water and Sanitation told reporters here.

He said that deposits worth around Rs 36,000 crore have been received in accounts opened under the government's flagship financial inclusion programme Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY).

11:30 am Interview: NIIT Technologies' management has reiterated a soft revenue growth for the first quarter in FY17 on account of exposure to its Geographical Info System (GIS) business, said Arvind Thakur, CEO & Joint MD of the company. This is just a seasonal weakness that the company faces every year, he added.Thakur believes the company's margins to remain steady due to significant growth in its international and digital business. Meanwhile, NIIT Tech's travel vertical, impacted due to client specific issues in previous quarters, is likely to recover under the re-organisation the company has undergone, he told CNBC-TV18.Don't miss: Bharti to benefit most from 3% SUC, 85bps margin gain likely; stock up 2%

The market is in green territory but weak banks are exerting pressure. The Sensex is up 19.99 points at 27029.66, and the Nifty up 0.20 points at 8266.65. About 1303 shares have advanced, 749 shares declined, and 134 shares are unchanged.

Capital Goods are lending support to the market. Bharti Airtel, BHEL, Hero MotoCorp, ICICI Bank and ONGC are top gainers while Asian Paints, Coal India, Infosys, HDFC Bank and Lupin are losers in the Sensex.

Defence stocks like Walchandnagar, Nelco are gaining as PM Modi says the govt will explore simpler & more efficient project licensing approach for defence.

Oil prices rose for a third day to their highest in about eight months on Wednesday, helped by industry data showing a larger-than-expected drawdown in US crude inventories, worries about attacks on Nigeria's oil industry and strong Chinese demand.