Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended flat in a special trading session on Saturday as investors saw little coming in from the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for retail investors and the overall markets in the Union Budget. But buying in consumption-related sectors after Sitharaman exempted annual income of up to Rs12 lakh from income tax and rejigged tax slabs as part of her reformist Budget prevented any major fall in the markets. The markets were open on Saturday due to the presentation of the Union Budget. Earlier, markets were open on Saturdays when the Budgets were presented on February 1, 2020, and February 28, 2015.

In a day market with heavy volatility, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex eked out a marginal gain of 5.39 points or 0.01 per cent to settle at 77,505.96. During the day, it hit a high of 77,899.05 and a low of 77,006.47, gyrating 892.58 points. The NSE Nifty dipped 26.25 points or 0.11 per cent to settle at 23,482.15. Intra-day, the benchmark scaled a high of 23,632.45 and a low of 23,318.30. The BSE midcap gauge declined 0.49 per cent while smallcap index climbed 0.28 per cent. The market capitalization (mcap) of BSE-listed companies is Rs4,23,84,653.29 crore (Rs323.84 lakh cr or $4.89 trn).

“The market has responded to the Union budget with a mixed view, primarily due to the modest 10 per cent YoY increase in capex for FY26, falling short of expectations. Sectors like railways, defense, and infra are affected on which the market relies for the performance, dampening the sentiment. consumption-based sectors, which are expected to benefit the most, had a low effect on the broad market due to their modest market mix position,” said Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

“While the Budget failed to cheer the markets, sectoral stocks from consumer durables, FMCG, and automobile space attracted significant buying interest after the government announced major income tax relief for the salaried class. With salaried income up to Rs 12 lakh per annum exempted from any tax, consumption is expected to get a major boost which is reflected positively across most of the consumption-related sectors,” Prashanth Tapse, sr V-P (research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

“The Union Budget largely played to our expectations, particularly with the much-needed income tax relief for the middle class, which will drive consumption and economic growth. No changes were made to Securities Transaction Tax or capital gains tax, as anticipated,” Pranav Haridasan, MD and CEO, Axis Securities, said.

“While the markets might have anticipated a more relaxed fiscal approach, the current stance is satisfactory. Overall, the budget is well-received, incorporating numerous reforms aimed at increasing farm incomes and supporting farmers. There are also considerable measures in place to assist MSMEs and to boost exports, making this a well-rounded budget that addresses the diverse needs of the populace,” added Vikas Khemani, Founder, Carnelian Asset Management & Advisors. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs1,188.99 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

“All in all, it is a growth-focused budget which will boost all the growth levers – manufacturing, access to credit, exports, employment generation, innovation and technology development, sustainability, etc. which will have a multiplier impact on the economy,” Kampani said.

Among BSE sectoral indices, realty soared 3.69 per cent, FMCG zoomed (2.91 per cent), consumer discretionary jumped 2.89 per cent, consumer durables rallied 2.47 per cent, auto (1.75 per cent) and services (0.85 per cent). Capital Goods tanked 3.02 per cent, industrials (2.68 per cent), power (2.63 per cent), utilities (2.15 per cent), oil & gas (1.72 per cent) and commodities (0.99 per cent).

Markets were rallying for the past four days. On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark jumped 1,315.5 points or or 1.72 per cent, and the Nifty went up by 389.95 points or 1.68 per cent.