India Budget 2021: Shares rise as investors pin hopes on federal budget

Bengaluru - Country likely to predict economic growth of 11% in the fiscal year beginning April 1.

By Reuters

Published: Fri 29 Jan 2021, 11:49 AM

Last updated: Fri 29 Jan 2021, 11:55 AM

Indian shares edged up in volatile trade on Friday after five sessions of losses, supported by gains in auto and bank stocks ahead of the federal budget on Monday.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.17% to 13,840.75 by 0530 GMT while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.15% at 46,943.15. The blue-chip Nifty is headed for a monthly decline of 0.95%.

“The markets are volatile and we have been seeing corrections on the back on uncertainty around the budget” said Siddharth Sedani, head of equity advisory at Anand Rathi Financial Services in Mumbai.

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India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to unveil plans to boost economic growth at the world’s second most populous country when she presents the budget next week.

Shares of automaker Jaguar Land Rover parent Tata Motors rose 1.2% ahead of its quarterly results while the Nifty Auto gained 0.4%.

Shares of TVS Motor hit an over two-year high after the company’s third-quarter profit more than doubled to 2.66 billion rupees.

The Nifty 50 gained as much as 1.08% earlier in the session but trimmed gains, weighed down by losses in consumer giant Hindustan Unilever, private lender Axis Bank and auto maker Maruti Suzuki India.

Top private sector lender HDFC Bank rose 1.3% to be the top boost on the Nifty, helping the Nifty Bank index rise 0.6%, while the Nifty Pharma index was down 0.6%, led by a 2.9% decline in Lupin after the drugmaker’s quarterly results.

Investors also await growth projections for the upcoming financial year from the annual economic survey which will be presented later in the day.

A source told Reuters that India is likely to predict economic growth of 11% in the fiscal year beginning April 1 in the annual economic survey.