Stock market opened in green but shed gains to trade in red.

Sensex gains over 300 points, Nifty goes past 23,600

Stock market today: The S&P BSE Sensex was up by 278.80 points to 77,779.37, while the NSE Nifty50 gained 81.80 points to 23,590.20 as of 11:29 AM. 

by · India Today

In Short

  • FMCG and auto sectors gained; IT stocks fell
  • IndusInd Bank led gainers; Hero MotoCorp top loser
  • Budget expectations include personal income tax cuts

Benchmark stock market indices opened flat on Saturday as stock market investors awaited key announcements of Union Budget 2025. The markets opened with marginal gains but quickly shed the early rise to go up again.

The S&P BSE Sensex was up by 278.80 points to 77,779.37, while the NSE Nifty50 gained 81.80 points to 23,590.20 as of 11:29 AM.

Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said that on the Budget day the market reactions will be quick in response to Budget announcements.

The early rise in the stock market was driven by gains in FMCG and the auto sector, while IT stocks traded in red.

Coming to individual stocks, IndusInd Bank led the gainers; Hero MotoCorp was top loser.

IndusInd Bank jumped 2.68%, Indian Hotels Company rose 2.49%, BEL gained 2.05%, Mahindra & Mahindra added 1.86%, and NTPC was up 1.73%.

Hero MotoCorp fell 1.34%, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories declined 1.04%, ONGC dropped 0.63%, Bharat Petroleum Corporation shed 0.57%, and Grasim Industries slipped 0.55%.

"A major expectation from the Budget is a cut in personal income tax to provide relief to the middle class and boost consumption, thereby facilitating growth recovery. The extent of the tax relief remains to be seen. The fact is that there is no fiscal space for big relief. The market will be looking for growth stimulating measures; not market-related taxation reliefs like changes in the capital gains taxation. The market response to the Budget will not last more than a few days. Trends in growth and earnings recovery will dictate the medium to long-term market direction," he added.

The Nifty Smallcap100 index advanced 0.96%, while the Nifty Midcap100 gained 0.81%, showing sustained buying interest in broader markets. The India VIX, which measures volatility, declined by 0.80% in early trade.

"We expect the government to unveil targeted growth-supportive fiscal policies, with minimum disruption to the fiscal consolidation roadmap," said Sonal Varma, economist at Nomura.