 "High GDP growth forecast in Q3, Q4 boosts market")
The 30-share Sensex ended up 97 points at 20,464 and the 50-share Nifty gained 25 points at 6,073.
The key highlights of the interim budget include, Fiscal deficit for FY14 to be contained at 4.6% of GDP; FY15 target at 4.1%, FY14 Current Account Deficit seen at $45 bn, FY14 Q3 & Q4 GDP growth to be at least 5.2%, Excise cut on capital goods cut from 12% to 10%, Excise duty cut on small cars and two wheelers reduced from 12% to 8%, Excise duty for SUVs cut from 30% to 24%, Excise duty for large and mid-segment cars cut to 20%, Excise duty on consumer durables cut from 12% to 10%.
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As per the proposals presented in the interim budget today, net borrowings of the government in 2014-15 are pegged at Rs 4.57 lakh crore against Rs 4.68 lakh crore for the 2013-14 fiscal.
According to the interim Budget proposals, subsidy bill on food, petroleum and fertilisers is estimated at Rs 2,46,397 crore for 2014-15 fiscal against Rs 2,45,452 crore in the revised estimates for this fiscal.
The Finance Minister also said that merchandise exports are projected to rise 6.3% to $326 billion in FY14. For FY15, he said that the government will provide capital infusion on Rs 11,200 crore to public sector banks and total spending on food, fertiliser and fuel subsidies will be at Rs 2.5 lakh crore.
The rupee continued to trade firm in late noon trades after Finance Minister P Chidambaram said in the interim budget that current account deficit (CAD) will be contained at $45 billion this financial year, well below the record high level of 2012-13. The rupee was trading at Rs 61.91 compared with Friday's close of Rs 61.93 per dollar.
Asian shares extended gains on Monday tracking gains on Wall Street with Nikkei ended up 0.6% despite the yen staying firm against the US dollar. Hang Seng and Straits Times ended over 1% higher while Shanghai Composite ended nearly 1% higher.
European shares were also trading firm with positive bias. The FTSE was up 0.9% while the CAC-40 and DAX were trading with marginal gains.
Bankex, Auto, Healthcare, Power indices were the gainers among the sectoral indices while Metal, Oil and Gas, Realty indices and Consumer Durables ended lower.
In the financial space, HDFC Bank, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank ended up 1-2% each contributing the most to the Sensex gains.
Infosys was up 0.5% and TCS ended up 0.1%.
Auto shares firmed up after reduction in excise duty on small cars, two-wheelers and SUVs. Mahindra & Mahindra, Hero MOtoCorp, and Maruti Suzuki ended up 1-3% each.
Tata Power ended nearly 5% up after Arvind Kejriwal resigned as chief minister of Delhi on Friday, 14 February 2014. In December 2013, the Delhi government announced 50% subsidy on power consumption up to 400 units and asked the state regulator to look into the accounts of power distribution companies to see if they were profiteering.
Among other shares, Cox and Kings ended higher by 4.3% at Rs 145, extending its Friday’s 5.5% rally, after reporting an over nine-fold jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 30.91 crore for the third quarter ended December, 2013 (Q3FY14).
Opto Circuits (India) tanked 14% to end at Rs 24.90 on BSE, after reporting a consolidated net loss of Rs 6.79 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2013 (Q3), due to lower operational income and higher interest cost. The medical equipment maker had registered a profit of Rs 113 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.
Capital goods shares ended mixed up after cut in excise duty to 10% from 12%. L&T ended up 0.5%, BHEL lost 0.5%, Siemens rose 0.2% while ABB ended up 0.8%.
The broader markets ended mixed with Mid-cap index ended down 0.2% and Small-cap index ended flat with positive bias.
Market breadth was negative with 1,373 losers and 1,235 gainers on the BSE.