Key benchmark indices pared losses after hitting fresh intraday low in early afternoon trade. At 12:19 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 11.80 points or 0.04% at 28,801.08. The Nifty 50 index was currently up 6.90 points or 0.08% at 8,889.80.

The Sensex rose 63.66 points, or 0.22% at the day's high of 28,876.54 in morning trade. The index fell 41.67 points, or 0.14% at the day's low of 28,771.21 in early afternoon trade, its lowest intraday level since 21 February 2017. The Nifty rose 18.05 points, or 0.20% at the day's high of 8,914.75 in morning trade. The index fell 17.50 points, or 0.20% at the day's low of 8,879.20 in early afternoon trade, its lowest intraday level since 21 February 2017.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.03%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.45%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1,356 shares rose and 1,123 shares fell. A total of 180 shares were unchanged.

Tata Steel was up 0.67% after the company said its first greenfield ferro-chrome plant at Gopalpur has started production. The announcement was made during market hours today, 28 February 2017. Tata Steel said that its recently commissioned ferro-chrome plant at Gopalpur Industrial Park in Ganjam district of Odisha, has achieved a major milestone with the first ever production of ferro-chrome on 25 February 2017, with compliance to all technical parameters. The Rs 542 crore ferro-chrome plant has an installed capacity of 55,000 tonne per annum (TPA). Besides the plant at Gopalpur, Tata Steel has two other ferro-chrome plants in Odisha viz. a 65,000 TPA plant at Bamnipal in Keonjhar district and the other at Athagarh in Cuttack district of 55,000 TPA capacity under the management of its subsidiary T S Alloys.

Most capital goods shares edged higher. Jindal Saw (up 1.04%), Praj Industries (up 1.02%), Bharat Electronics (up 0.74%), Thermax (up 0.73%), ABB India (up 0.65%), Reliance Defence and Engineering (up 0.64%), Siemens (up 0.63%), Suzlon Energy (up 0.57%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (up 0.33%), Lakshmi Machine Works (up 0.29%), Punj Lloyd (up 0.24%), AIA Engineering (up 0.09%) and GE T&D India (up 0.08%), edged higher. BEML (down 0.37%), SKF India (down 0.48%), Crompton Greaves (down 0.58%), GE Power India (down 0.87%) and Havells India (down 0.92%), edged lower.

Engineering and construction major L&T was up 0.39%. The company said that its wholly-owned subsidiary, L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE), signed an enterprise framework agreement (EFA) with Shell Global Solutions International B.V., for providing engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services for Shell projects in the Middle East, South East AsIa and India. The EFA is for a period of five years. For any agreements resulting from the EFA, LTHE will leverage on its core strengths of engineering and project management to deliver projects for Shell. LTHE's engineering office in India, will be its High Value Engineering Centre. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 28 February 2017.

FMCG shares were mixed. Nestle India (down 1.18%), GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (down 1.05%), Britannia Industries (down 0.74%), Tata Global Beverages (down 0.54%), Godrej Consumer Products (down 0.46%), Hindustan Unilever (down 0.46%) and Bajaj Corp (down 0.23%), edged lower. Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care (up 0.14%), Jyothy Laboratories (up 0.34%), Dabur India (up 0.94%), Colgate Palmolive (India) (up 1.36%) and Marico (up 1.61%), edged higher.

Overseas, most Asian shares rose today, 28 February 2017, bolstered by gains on Wall Street as investors awaited a speech by US President Donald Trump for signals on tax reform and infrastructure spending.

US stocks pushed further into record territory on Monday, 27 February 2017, as the Dow Jones industrial average closed at a record high. The Standard & Poor's 500 index also closed at a record high.

Investors are looking ahead to an address that Trump is scheduled to make to Congress in the global day today, 28 February 2017, where he is expected to provide details on his highly anticipated tax reform proposals. Separately, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen and Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer are slated to speak on Friday, 3 March 2017. Investors will scour the comments for any hints as to when the central bank will raise interest rates.

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