Nifty jumps 59 pts on Eco Survey boost; Budget in focus

Markets staged a strong comeback today after a three-day bruising rout as the Economic Survey projected a GDP growth rate of 7-7.75 per cent for the next fiscal.
The renewed buying spirit steered the benchmark Nifty to rebound over 59 points to close above the psychologically significant 7,000 barrier.
Frantic covering-up of short positions by speculators and pre-Budget shopping in fundamentally strong counters by optimistic participants on hopes of growth-oriented measures to rejuvenate economy mainly buoyed trading sentiments.
In the meantime, the Economic Survey today termed external environment as challenging but projected a 7-7.5 per cent GDP growth rate in the next fiscal which could accelerate to 8 per cent in a couple of years.

This comes on the heels of rating agency Moody's forecasting "stable GDP growth at around 7.5 per cent in 2016 and 2017".
Moreover, likely achievement of 2015-16 fiscal deficit target of 3.9 per cent also boosted sentiment ahead of the Budget.

There are also more fundamental factors supporting the relief-rally, although the market continued to look vulnerable, a trader commented.
Elsewhere, most Asian markets ended with strong gains on expectations of more monetary easing measures from China's central bank even as a rebound in oil prices boosted risk appetite.
European peers were trading firm despite the 'Brexit' fear dominating trading sentiment.

The 50-share broader index resumed firmly higher at 7,039.30 and swung between a high of 7,052.90 and a low of 6,985.10, before ending at 7,029.75, showing a smart rise of 59.15 points, or 0.85 per cent.
Financials outperformed among sectoral indices, with PSU Bank and Nifty Bank surging over 1.86 and 1.74 per cent, respectively. They were followed by realty (1.44 per cent), FMCG (1.17 per cent), metal (1.06 per cent), infra (0.99 per cent), energy (0.80 per cent) and technology (0.58 per cent).
However, auto, healthcare along with mid-cap and small-cap counters suffered sustained selling pressure.
Major gainers included HDFC Bank, ITC, Infosys, HDFC, L&T, SBI, Axis Bank, Bosch, Reliance, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, HCL-Tech, Kotak Bank, Coal India, Yes Bank, NTPC and HUL.

Housing finance counters were in the spotlight today on hopes that upcoming Budget will provide incentives to boost demand in rural areas.
Shares of United Spirits, UB Holdings and McDowell Holdings rallied over 2 to 19.96 per cent following the resignation of Vijay Mallya.
Key losers were Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, Lupin, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, Wipro, Idea and TCS.
Turnover in cash segment fell to Rs 14,088.48 crore from Rs 18,482.58 crore yesterday. A total of 7,484.54 lakh shares changed hands in 67,43,815 trades.
The market capitalisation of NSE stood at Rs 84,77,926 crore.