Mumbai: Equity benchmarks climbed in early trade on Wednesday amid an overall positive trend in the global markets and ahead of the presentation of Union Budget 2023-24. The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex jumped by 516.97 points to 60,066.87. The broader NSE Nifty climbed by 153.15 points to 17,815.30.
The BSE had settled with a gain of 49.49 points or 0.08 percent at 59,549.90 on January 31. The NSE inched up by 13.20 points or 0.07 percent to close at 17,662.15. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 5,439.64 crore on January 31, according to exchange data.
From the Sensex pack, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Titan and NTPC were among the major winners in early trade.
ITC, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement and Larsen & Toubro were the laggards.
In Asia, equity markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading higher.
Markets in the US had ended in the positive territory on January 31.
International oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.48 percent to USD 84.49 per barrel.
"If the budget turns out to be good, with no unpleasant surprises, there can be short-covering leading to spurt in the market," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. "The Economic Survey reflects optimism on the growth and corporate earnings front. This augurs well for the markets in the medium term," Vijayakumar added.
The Economic Survey 2022-23 tabled in Parliament on January 31, said India's economic growth is projected to slow to six to 6.8 percent in the next fiscal, from an estimated seven percent in FY23, but the country will remain the fastest growing major economy in the world as it fared better in dealing with the extraordinary set of challenges the globe has faced.
(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)