Sensex, Nifty end flat in highly volatile trade on Budget day
Mumbai, Feb 1 (PTI): Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended flat in a special trading session on Saturday as investors saw little coming in from the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for retail investors and the overall markets in the Union Budget.
But, buying in consumption-related sectors after Sitharaman exempted annual income of up to Rs 12 lakh from income tax and rejigged tax slabs as part of her reformist Budget prevented any major fall in the markets.
The markets were open on Saturday due to the presentation of the Union Budget.
Earlier, markets were open on Saturdays when the Budgets were presented on February 1, 2020 and February 28, 2015.
In a day market with heavy volatility, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex eked out a marginal gain of 5.39 points or 0.01 per cent to settle at 77,505.96. During the day, it hit a high of 77,899.05 and a low of 77,006.47, gyrating 892.58 points.
The NSE Nifty dipped 26.25 points or 0.11 per cent to settle at 23,482.15. Intra-day, the benchmark scaled a high of 23,632.45 and a low of 23,318.30.
The BSE midcap gauge declined 0.49 per cent while smallcap index climbed 0.28 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, realty soared 3.69 per cent, FMCG zoomed (2.91 per cent), consumer discretionary jumped 2.89 per cent, consumer durables rallied 2.47 per cent, auto (1.75 per cent) and services (0.85 per cent).
Capital Goods tanked 3.02 per cent, industrials (2.68 per cent), power (2.63 per cent), utilities (2.15 per cent), oil & gas (1.72 per cent) and commodities (0.99 per cent).
Markets were rallying for the past four days.
On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark jumped 1,315.5 points or or 1.72 per cent, and the Nifty went up by 389.95 points or 1.68 per cent.
"The market has responded to the Union budget with a mixed view, primarily due to the modest 10 per cent YoY increase in capex for FY26, falling short of expectations. Sectors like railways, defense, and infra are affected on which the market relies for the performance, dampening the sentiment," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.
On the other hand, Nair said, consumption-based sectors, which are expected to benefit the most, had a low effect on the broad market due to their modest market mix position.
"While the Budget failed to cheer the markets, sectoral stocks from consumer durables, FMCG, and automobile space attracted significant buying interest after the government announced major income tax relief for the salaried class. With salaried income up to Rs 12 lakh per annum exempted from any tax, consumption is expected to get a major boost which is reflected positively across most of the consumption-related sectors," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
In a relief to the middle class, Sitharaman exempted annual income of up to Rs 12 lakh from income tax and rejigged tax slabs as part of her reformist Budget.
Presenting her eighth straight Budget in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman laid out a blueprint for next generation reforms including raising FDI limit in insurance sector, simplification of tax laws, cutting duties on intermediaries while providing enhanced fiscal support for welfare measures.
This she did while sticking to the fiscal consolidation roadmap that projected the fiscal deficit to come down to 4.4 per cent of the GDP in the financial year 2025-26.
For the current financial year fiscal deficit has been pegged at 4.8 per cent of GDP.
"The Union Budget largely played to our expectations, particularly with the much-needed income tax relief for the middle class, which will drive consumption and economic growth. No changes were made to Securities Transaction Tax or capital gains tax, as anticipated," Pranav Haridasan, MD and CEO, Axis Securities, said.
From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Zomato surged over 7 per cent. Maruti, ITC Hotels, ITC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints, Titan and IndusInd Bank were among the biggest gainers.
Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, UltraTech Cement, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Adani Ports were among the laggards.
"While the markets might have anticipated a more relaxed fiscal approach, the current stance is satisfactory. Overall, the budget is well-received, incorporating numerous reforms aimed at increasing farm incomes and supporting farmers. There are also considerable measures in place to assist MSMEs and to boost exports, making this a well-rounded budget that addresses the diverse needs of the populace," Vikas Khemani, Founder, Carnelian Asset Management & Advisors, said.
Asian markets are closed on Saturday due to holidays. European markets were also closed.
US markets ended lower on Friday.
According to Vishal Kampani - Vice Chairman and Managing Director, JM Financial Ltd, the budget has touched upon all key elements to accelerate economic growth. It has successfully managed to strike a balance among the trinity – offering fiscal stimulus to consumption, maintaining the fiscal glide path and undertaking reforms to boost growth.
"All in all, it is a growth-focused budget which will boost all the growth levers – manufacturing, access to credit, exports, employment generation, innovation and technology development, sustainability, etc. which will have a multiplier impact on the economy," Kampani said.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,188.99 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.29 per cent to USD 76.67 a barrel.
Rallying for the fourth day running on Friday, the 30-share BSE benchmark ended 740.76 points or 0.97 per cent higher at 77,500.57. The Nifty rallied 258.90 points or 1.11 per cent to 23,508.40.
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Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
