Sensex ends 158 points higher on Budget-Day; Adani jolt leaves Nifty in red

After rallying over 1,200 points riding on Nirmala Sitharaman's pro-growth Budget, the Sensex made wild swings and pared most of its gains to end 158 points higher. Nifty, however, painted a different picture as the 50-stock barometer, which includes two Adani stocks, ended 46 points lower.

While there was no major negative surprise for the stock market, relief in income tax and capex boost made Dalal Street bulls call it a 'Baahubali' Budget. However, the pressure on Adani Group stocks, which tanked up to 30% during the day, spoiled the jubilant mood on Dalal Street.

The BSE Sensex index ended 158 points or 0.27% higher at 59,708, while Nifty50 fell 46 points or 0.26% to settle at 17,616.

From the Sensex pack, ICICI Bank and Tata steel were the top gainers, rising over 2%. ITC, HDFC Bank, L&T, TCS, HDFC and Kotak Bank also closed with gains. On the other hand, Bajaj Finserv, SBI, IndusInd Bank fell about 4-5.5%.

Sector-wise, Nifty PSU Bank declined 5.68% and Nifty Metal fell 4.5%. Financial, auto, media, oil & gas and consumer durables stocks also closed lower. Whereas, in the broader market, Nifty Midcap50 plunged 0.96% and Smallcap50 declined 1.36%.

“A well-tuned Budget with strong emphasis on consumption and capex has lifted optimism in the market; however, volatility sparked in the latter half as focus shifted back to the Adani saga and FOMC meeting. Life insurance players witnessed heavy selling as the Budget pushed for the new tax regime, making insurance products less appealing as a tax-saving tool," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"Markets will react to the outcome of the US Fed meeting in early trade on Thursday. Besides, the overhang of the Union Budget and scheduled weekly expiry would further add to the choppiness. A decisive close below the 17,550 zone in Nifty would strengthen the bears. We thus reiterate our negative view and suggest limiting trades until we see some stability," said Ajit Mishra, VP - Technical Research, Religare Broking.

Global markets
Global stocks edged up on Wednesday as signs of slowing US wage growth supported expectations that the Federal Reserve could signal an end to interest rate hikes at its meeting later in the day.

The MSCI All-World index was last up 0.2% on the day, having ended January with a 7% gain, thanks to investors who are growing more optimistic about the outlook for global inflation and interest rates.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.07% to end at 27,347, while China's Shanghai Composite advanced 0.9% to 3,285 and South Korea's Kospi surged 1.02% to 2,450.

Whereas, the blue-chip FTSE 100 gained 0.2% and the midcap FTSE 250 index climbed 0.6%.

Currency watch
The rupee was flat versus the dollar, and quoted at 81.92 per dollar, giving up its post-Budget gains to mirror the reversal in equities as Adani Group companies tanked again.

Crude impact
Oil prices were broadly stable as the market is looking towards a meeting of OPEC and its allies as well as a Federal Reserve rate decision and the US government data on crude and fuel stockpiles on Wednesday.

Brent crude futures dipped 0.1% to $85.35 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) US crude futures rose 0.1% to $78.95 a barrel.

(With inputs from agencies)


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