Stock market today: Nifty 50, Sensex end lower on Budget Day; PSU banks shine on capex boost

The Budget largely remained in line with expectations and focused on fiscal consolidation, infra, agri, green growth, and railways.

The government showed fiscal prudence in the Budget which, as per experts, is positive for the economy and the stock market.

Also Read: Budget 2024 Key Highlights: Income tax, infra, railways, EVs and more – 15 key takeaways from FM Sitharaman’s speech

Experts underscored while the Budget is overall positive for the market, lower-than-expected infra spending might have disappointed the market.

“The domestic market was marginally disappointed by lower than expected infra spending in the interim budget,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Nifty 50 fell 67 points to hit the intraday low of 21,658.75 before ending 28 points, or 0.13 per cent, lower at 21,697.45. The Sensex lost 177 points to hit the intraday low of 71,574.89 but ended 107 points, or 0.15 per cent, lower at 71,645.30.

Mid and smallcaps underperformed the benchmarks. The BSE Midcap index fell 0.40 per cent while the Smallcap index declined 0.22 per cent.

Also Read: Here’s why Nifty 50, Sensex turned volatile after Budget 2024 speech

Weak global cues further weighed on market sentiment. Following sharp losses on Wall Street overnight, major European markets were in the red when the Sensex closed today ahead of the Bank of England interest rate decision.

The US Fed on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged on expected lines but did not give any clear signals on when it will start reducing rates.

“The US Fed’s decision to maintain rates without clear guidance on future cuts dampened market sentiments,” said Nair.

Top Nifty 50 gainers today

Some 19 stocks ended with gains in the Nifty 50 index while the remaining 31 stocks suffered losses.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki India (up 4.09 per cent), Power Grid Corporation of India (up 2.68 per cent) and Cipla (up 2.44 per cent) closed as the top gainers in the Nifty 50 index.

Top Nifty 50 laggards today

Shares of Grasim Industries (down 2.60 per cent), Larsen & Toubro (down 2.35 per cent) and UltraTech Cement (down 2.34 per cent) closed as the top laggards in the Nifty 50 pack.

Also Read: Top Gainers and Losers today on 1 February, 2024: Maruti Suzuki India, Cipla, Ultratech Cement, Larsen & Toubro among most active stocks; Check full list here

PSU bank stocks shine

The Nifty PSU Bank index jumped 3.11 per cent after the Finance Minister announced an increase in government capital expenditure (capex) in her budget speech.

Experts said an increase in the infrastructure sector by 11.1 per cent and a rise in capex to ₹11.1 lakh crore in FY25 will boost the corporate lending business of PSU banks.

Stocks such as Punjab & Sind Bank (up 7.47 per cent), Indian Overseas Bank (up 6.31 per cent) and UCO Bank (up 5.48 per cent) closed as the top gainers in the PSU Bank index.

Nifty Auto rose 0.53 per cent. The Nifty Bank index ended 0.42 per cent higher while the Nifty Private Bank rose 0.12 per cent.

On the other hand, Nifty Media and Metal indices fell over a per cent each. Nifty Realty (down 0.94 per cent), Pharma (down 0.55 per cent) and Consumer Durables (down 0.44 per cent) also ended with losses.

Experts’ views on markets

“Markets are not in a hurry for the next directional move and the recent price action reaffirms our view. Traders have no option but to align their positions accordingly and focus more on a stock-specific trading approach. Though we are seeing consistent outperformance from the broader indices despite the overbought condition, we feel it is prudent to restrict exposure and prefer only quality names,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP – Technical Research, Religare Broking.

Technical views on Nifty 50

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities pointed out that the immediate resistance for Nifty is at the 21,840 mark, whereas the immediate support is placed at 21,650.

He said any move below 21,650 may lead to a down-move towards 21,580 and 21,540. Major support continues to be at the 21,500 mark.

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities pointed out that the Nifty closed above the short-term 21EMA for three out of the last four days, suggesting resilience in the current bullish trend.

“This bullish momentum in the Nifty is likely to persist as long as the index remains above 21,500. On the higher end, a decisive move above 21,750 might set the Nifty up for a rally towards 22,100-22,200 in the short term,” said De.

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Disclaimer: The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts, experts and broking companies, not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.

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Published: 01 Feb 2024, 03:30 PM IST