Sensex Hovers At 49,700, Up 1000 Points; Financials, Capital Goods Stocks Lead Gains

All BSE sectoral indices traded higher, with financial and capital goods indices gaining over 3 per cent

The Budget-day momentum continued for the second straight session, with the BSE Sensex reclaiming the 50,000 mark and the NSE Nifty clawing back above 14,700 on the back of a record high in the Nifty Bank index and buying spree across sectors. At 1:50 pm, the BSE Sensex was off the 50,000 mark at 49,789.55, higher by 1,188.85 points or 2.44 per cent and the NSE Nifty was at 14,639.50, up 358 points or 2.5 per cent. All the BSE sectoral indices were in the green, with financial and capital goods indices soaring more than 3 per cent.

The benchmarks had recorded their best performance on a budget day in over two decades after the finance minister announced a slew of measures to revive the pandemic-hit economy.

The Nifty Bank index surged over 4 per cent to touch a record high of 34,653 in early trading after the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the divestment of two public sector undertaking (PSU) banks in FY22 and proposed a bad bank to house loans gone sour. Among individual financial stocks, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Bajaj Finance and Kotak Mahindra Bank gained 2.3 per cent to 5.3 per cent.

The NSE Capital goods index also zoomed over 3 per cent as Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled a slew of projects aimed at rejuvenating the infra sector. Ms Sitharaman expanded the National Infrastructure Pipeline to cover 7,400 projects by 2025 and also announced the creation of a development finance institution called the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development. Infra major L&T gained more than 4 per cent, while Shree Cements, Ultra Tech Cement and Grasim added 6-7 per cent each.

Among individual stocks, Tata Motors was top gainer among Sensex shares. The stock of the auto major rose 10 per cent to hit fresh 52-week high of Rs 310. Shree Cements, Grasim, Ultratech Cement and Hindalco also rose 3-8 per cent each on the BSE.

On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp, HDFC Life, Hindustan Unilever and Reliance Industries were among the notable losers.

The BSE market breadth was weak. Out of 3,016 stocks traded on the BSE, there were 1,695 advancing stocks as against 1,147 declines.