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Indian shares extend sharp post-budget gains, HDFC Bank leads

Bengaluru - Investors cheered the government’s move to step up spending to aid the economy’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Indian shares extended their post-budget gains to a second session on Tuesday, led by advances in finance and infra stocks, as investors cheered the government’s move to step up spending to aid the economy’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

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The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 2.14 per cent to 14,586.55 by 0352 GMT, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was up 2.1 per cent at 49,621.80. Both the indexes had gained 4.7 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively, after the federal budget was announced on Monday.

India boosted healthcare spending by 135 per cent, lifted caps on foreign investment in its vast insurance market, and increased capital expenditure for 2021/2022 by 35 per cent in its federal budget.

Among individual shares and sectors, the Nifty Bank Index rose as much as 3.9 per cent to a record high, boosted by a 6.6 per cent jump in top private-sector lender HDFC Bank.

Infrastructure firm Larsen & Toubro climbed 6 per cent.

Jaguar Land Rover parent Tata Motors gained 6.6 per cent and was the top percentage gainer on the Nifty 50 after reporting a 27.6 per cent rise in domestic sales in January.

The Nifty Auto index rose 2.2 per cent, also supported by a new vehicle scrappage policy announced in the budget.

Mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp added 3.4 per cent ahead of its quarterly results.

In broader Asian markets, shares gained on increased optimism around stimulus packages and a global economic recovery.