Budget day trading: IT resilience continues as stocks gain over 1%

Stocks in the information technology (IT) sector were the only ones which stood out in the wave of red on Budget day. The BSE IT index ended the day gaining over one per cent even as benchmark indices were down the most in a single day in over three years. Brokerages believe that the measure to scrap the dividend distribution tax is expected to help high dividend paying companies. Latest move will improve dividend yield if companies pay out dividends from the extra cash they generate. The other factor which aided gains in IT stocks was the "defensive" nature of the sector.