Sensex, Nifty in green as mid, smallcaps gain ahead of Union Budget 2025

Mumbai:  Domestic benchmark indices saw a bull rally early on Saturday, ahead of the much-anticipated Union Budget 2025-26, while continuing their rise for another trading session this week.

The Sensex was trading almost 193.95 points, or 0.25 per cent, at 77,694.52, while the Nifty was at 23,562.65, ahead by 54.25 points, or 0.23 per cent.

Sun Pharma, Airtel, Bharat Electronics and NTPC were among major gainers on the Nifty, while losers were ONGC, Hero Motocorp, BPCL and Nestle.

According to Prashant Khemka, fund manager at Fort Capital, a lot of heavy lifting is expected by the RBI during the Budget session.

This year’s Union Budget is expected to maintain the government’s focus on promoting economic growth while ensuring equity.

The government is expected to prioritise improving the quality of life in rural areas to ensure equitable and inclusive development.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is also expected to continue with the government’s policy of stepping up investments in big ticket infrastructure projects to spur growth and create more jobs in the economy in the Budget for 2025-26.

In early trade, broader indices outperformed with Nifty Smallcap 250 rising 0.5 per cent and Nifty Midcap 100 rising 0.3 per cent.

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers on January 31, as they sold equities worth Rs 1,188.99 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 2,232.22 crore on the same day.

The Economic Survey 2024-25, which was tabled in Parliament by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, pegs India’s GDP growth at 6.3-6.8 per cent for 2025-26.

According to the survey, the Modi 3.0 government will continue its emphasis on micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and good rabi crop production to accelerate growth and employment in the economy.

—IANS