Market Ahead, July 5: All you need to know before the Opening Bell

All eyes will be on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today who will present the Budget 2019 in the Parliament. Markets will react to her speech and the proposals she makes.

So, what can you expect from the budget? 

Well, market experts expect the government to lay out a growth-oriented budget to pump-prime the economy. They say the priority should be to arrest the declining growth momentum and the crisis of confidence by being a little expansionary this time. Since inflation is expected to be benign in the short-to-medium term, many experts feel the government should let go of the fiscal deficit target of 3.4 per cent set in the Interim Budget in February 2019.

In terms of volatility, markets typically witness huge swings on Budget day. This time, however, investors can expect a relative calm if the volatility gauge is anything to go by. The India VIX index ended at 13.53, down 1.2 per cent on Thursday. The index has cooled off sharply from May’s high of 28.7. Market players say the low reading signals that traders aren’t expecting any big move. 

Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian released his maiden Economic Survey yesterday where he outlined a model to make the economy grow 8 per cent a year, which is needed for the GDP to touch $5 trillion by 2024-25 as envisaged by PM Narendra Modi. For the current fiscal year, he pegged growth at 7 per cent, only 0.2 percentage higher than 6.8 per cent growth in FY19.

So, what else can you expect from the budget? How will the proposals impact your portfolio? To know these and more, visit our Business Standard's LIVE MARKET BLOG where leading market experts will decode the Budget 2019 in real time and offer tips on where to invest.