The markets have extended gains in the last 15-minutes or so. The Sensex is now up over 250 points at 17,960. The NSE Nifty is up 86 points at 5389.
ONGC and Larsen & Toubro are the top gainers, up over 3% each. Sterlite, Hindustan Unilever, Reliance and HDFC are the other major gainers.
The market breadth is fairly positive - out of 1,747 stocks have advanced, while 699 have declined.
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(Updated at 1110 hrs)
The markets are trading firm as the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee makes preliminary observations and presents a brief overview of the economy while kick-starting his budget speech. The Sensex is quoting at 17853, higher by 152 points or 0.8% and the Nifty is at 5350, up 46 points. And there is outperformance on the broader market front; the midcap index is at 6418, higher by 64 points and the smallcap index is at 7870, up 81 points.
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(Updated at 1036am)
The markets are in fine mettle ahead of the annual budget which is due to be presented by the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee around 11am this morning. The Sensex is quoting at 17835, higher by 135 points or 0.8% and the Nifty is at 5347, up 44 points. And there is outperformance on the broader market front; the midcap index is at 6432, higher by 78 points and the smallcap index is at 7885, up 96 points.
The upcoming budget is a key immediate trigger for the markets, which have been on a downtrend since the beginning of this year. The finance minister is expected to stress on fiscal consolidation, infrastructure spending, direct taxes code (DTC) and the goods and services Tax (GST), among other things. And going by the interaction of the PM with news editors last week, some reform measures may not be far behind. Though if the Railway budget is any indication of things to come, the government may be tempted to resort to big-ticket social sector initiatives and put radical reform measures on the backburner in an attempt to soothe the aam admi who is already reeling under the burden of spiralling prices and disgruntled by the unending mega scandals tumbling from the government's closet. At the same time, given the fact that this would be his sixth budget, Pranab Mukherjee may be tempted to use this big occassion to seal his place in history as a game-changing finance minister rather than a prime minister-in-waiting in successive congress-led governments.
On the global front, the Asian markets had a subdued start to the week. The Hong Kong shares came off their early losses as coal producers advanced on high crude-oil prices and geopolitical worries in the Middle East, although local property developers fell on policy concerns. The benchmark Hang Seng Index dropped 75 points to 22,937. Japanese stocks also started the week broadly lower, with large retailers trading down after data showed the segment's January sales fell 0.7% from a year earlier. The Nikkei Stock Average slipped 66 points 10,461.
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L&T has strengthened by 2.3% at Rs 1548 to lead the gainers list on the BSE. Hindustan Unilever has jumped 2.1% at Rs 285 and HDFC has added 1.9% at Rs 639. Wipro, LDF and RIL are the other significant gainers.
On the other hand, auto stocks are seeing selling pressure this morning on concerns that the government may increase the excise duty in the union budget. Hero Honda has slid by 3% at Rs 1454 to top the gainers list on the BSE. Tata Motors has shed 2.5% at Rs 1076, Bajaj Auto has lost 1.7% at Rs 1262 and M&M has lost 0.8% at Rs 590.
The market breadth is positive. Out of 2289 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1558 advancing stocks as against 647 declines.