The stock markets ended marginally lower on Thursday—the day the Union Budget was presented—as there were no announcements that would impact the Indian bourses.
The Nifty 50 ended at 21,697 points or 0.13%, a marginal fall from Wednesday’s close of 21,708, while the BSE Sensex closed at 71,645 points or 0.15%. The market opened almost flat on Thursday and continued to remain range-bound during the day.
The development comes as the Union Budget tabled was interim on account of the Lok Sabha elections to be held this year, and there were no expectations of any market-moving announcements. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also maintained the status quo on the taxation front.
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Despite the government announcing an increased outlay for capital expenditure for FY25—expected to give a big boost to infrastructure development in the country—it was a mixed bag for the associated sectors.
Despite new announcements in the Budget, companies associated with the railway sector saw their share prices going down, primarily due to lower allocation to the railway sector in the Budget.
Stocks of public sector banks and companies associated with green energy witnessed a marginal rise during the day. These entities expect that over the long run, energy, PSU, metals, and construction sectors would be the gainers.
BSE CEO Sundararaman Ramamurthy said, “In this Interim Budget, the honourable Finance Minister has once again delivered a responsible, innovative, and inclusive budget. This budget lays emphasis on fiscal products and gives room for private capital investment into the growth of India. Continuing with the trends of the last 10 years, the FM once again lays the foundation for a very strong path for India with due focus on areas of national importance.”
Since the start of this year, the Indian stock markets have been in volatile territory with sharp upward and downward movements. At the same time, there was an expectation from the market that the Budget would undertake certain fiscal consolidation measures, and the government has delivered.
The stock markets are likely to remain in an uncertain territory for some more time as one is not sure how the interest rates are going to move in the near future. There was hope that the US Fed would bring down the interest rates this year, but recent commentary suggests it might be delayed.
Edited by Suman Singh
