A traffic signal in the foreground of the Bombay Stock Exchange’s on Dalal Street seems to reflect the mood of the stock markets in Mumbai.
| Photo Credit: PAUL NORONHA

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rallied in opening trade on Saturday (February 1, 2025) ahead of the Union Budget presentation.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex climbed 136.44 points to 77,637.01 in opening trade. The NSE Nifty went up by 20.2 points to 23,528.60.

From the 30-share blue-chip pack, ITC Hotels, IndusInd Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Sun Pharma, UltraTech Cement and NTPC were among the biggest gainers.

Titan, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Nestle, Asian Paints, HCL Tech and ICICI Bank were among the laggards.

“On the Budget day, the market reactions will be quick in response to Budget announcements. A major expectation from the Budget is a cut in personal income tax to provide relief to the middle class and boost consumption, thereby facilitating growth recovery. The extent of the tax relief remains to be seen. The fact is that there is no fiscal space for big relief.

“The market will be looking for growth stimulating measures; not market-related taxation reliefs like changes in the capital gains taxation,” V.K. Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said.

The market response to the Budget will not last more than a few days. Trends in growth and earnings recovery will dictate the medium to long-term market direction, he added.

India’s economy is likely to expand by 6.3-6.8% in the coming fiscal, much lower than what is needed to become a developed country, and requires deregulation and reforms in areas like land and labour to stimulate growth, according to the government’s pre-Budget Economic Survey.

The state of the economy document, tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday (January 31, 2025), indicated that India’s world-beating growth is moderating and more needs to be done to achieve the near 8% annual rate needed to achieve the Viksit Bharat target by 2047.

Asian markets are closed on Saturday due to holidays.

U.S. markets ended lower on Friday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,188.99 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.14% to $76.76 a barrel.

Rallying for the fourth day running on Friday, the 30-share BSE benchmark ended 740.76 points or 0.97% higher at 77,500.57. The Nifty rallied 258.90 points or 1.11% to 23,508.40.

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended flat in a special trading session on Saturday (February 1, 2025) 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 Ms. Sitharaman exempted annual income of up to ₹12 lakh from income tax and rejigged tax slabs as part of her reformist Budget prevented any major fall in the markets.

Also read: Union Budget 2025 LIVE updates

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex rallied 350.03 points to 77,850.60 in the late morning trade. The NSE Nifty climbed 106.15 points to 23,614.55.

The markets were open on Saturday due to the presentation of the Union Budget.

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% 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% to settle at 23,482.15. Intra-day, the benchmark scaled a high of 23,632.45 and a low of 23,318.30.

Markets were rallying for the past four days.

“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.

Also read:Budget 2025 political reactions | Budget 2025 industrial reactions

On the other hand, Mr. 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 ₹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, Ms. Sitharaman exempted annual income of up to ₹12 lakh from income tax and rejigged tax slabs as part of her reformist Budget.

Presenting her eighth straight Budget in the Lok Sabha, Ms. 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.

The government aims to initiate “transformative reforms” across six domains, including taxation and financial sector, in the Union Budget 2025-26, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday.

Presenting her eighth consecutive Budget, Ms. Sitharaman said the government’s development track record of the past 10 years and structural reforms have drawn global attention.

This she did while sticking to the fiscal consolidation roadmap that projected the fiscal deficit to come down to 4.4% of the GDP in the financial year 2025-26.

For the current financial year fiscal deficit has been pegged at 4.8% 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.

U.S. markets ended lower on Friday (January 31, 2025).

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,” Mr. Kampani said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,188.99 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.29% to $76.67 a barrel.

Rallying for the fourth day running on Friday, the 30-share BSE benchmark ended 740.76 points or 0.97% higher at 77,500.57. The Nifty rallied 258.90 points or 1.11% to 23,508.40.