Markets opened on a positive note but turned choppy after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman concluded her Budget speech. The BSE Sensex fell 494.1 points to 77,006.47, while the NSE Nifty slipped 162.35 points to 23,346.05 in late afternoon trade. However, both indices later pared losses, with Sensex stabilizing at 77,509.90 and Nifty at 23,495.30.
Key laggards in the Sensex pack included Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement, Larsen & Toubro, Power Grid, Tata Steel, and SBI. On the other hand, Zomato, Maruti, ITC, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Titan saw notable gains.
The Union Budget brought relief to the middle class by exempting annual incomes up to ?12 lakh from income tax and restructuring tax slabs. Sitharaman also proposed raising the FDI cap in the insurance sector and simplifying tax laws while maintaining the fiscal deficit target at 4.4% of GDP for 2025-26.
Pranav Haridasan, MD & CEO of Axis Securities, noted that the Budget met expectations, particularly with income tax relief, which could boost consumption. Sunil Damania, CIO of Mojopms, highlighted the government’s focus on efficient fund utilization rather than increasing capital expenditure.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ?1,188.99 crore on Friday. Meanwhile, Brent crude fell 0.29% to $75.67 per barrel.
On Friday, Sensex had surged 740.76 points to 77,500.57, and Nifty climbed 258.90 points to 23,508.40, marking their fourth consecutive session of gains.
With Asian markets closed for holidays and US markets ending lower on Friday, investors remain watchful of global cues post-Budget.