Sensex reclaims 40,000 mark briefly ahead of Union Budget

Budget day:Top gainers in the Sensex pack in early trade included IndusInd Bank, L&T, HUL, Kotak Bank, HDFC, Asian Paints, Bajaj Auto and RIL, rising up to 1.14 per cent.

Equity benchmark indices ruled strong during early hours on Friday ahead of the highly anticipated Union Budget for 2019-20.

Budget day: The 30-share index was trading 114.67 points, or 0.29 per cent, higher at 40,022.73 at 0930 hours. Similarly, the broader Nifty was quoting 31.85 points, or 0.27 per cent, up at 11,978.60. (REUTERS)

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the new government’s first budget which is expected to boost spending while allowing for the fiscal deficit target to rise.

A day earlier, the Economic Survey projected GDP growth rebounding from a five-year low to 7 per cent in the current financial year 2019-20.

At 10:00 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was up 46 points at 39,954 while the Nifty 50 gained 8 points to 11,958.

At the National Stock Exchange, most sectoral indices were in the positive zone except for IT, metal and pharma. The gains were however marginal.

(For full budget coverage log on to livemint.com)

Among stocks, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Bharti Infratel, Hindustan Lever, Larsen & Toubro and IndusInd Bank were in the green.

But Yes Bank lost over 3.8 per cent and ONGC over 2 per cent. Vedanta, NTPC and Bharat Petroleum also showed losses.

Investors remained edgy after comments on Chinese and European currency manipulation by US President Donald Trump.