PSU stocks wealth erodes by Rs 82,000 cr on Budget day

The country's government-run firms suffered a loss of over Rs 82,000 crore on a single day today with no significant announcement like FDI hike in some sectors or disinvestments in PSUs in the Budget 2009-10.

The market valuation of Bombay Stock Exchange PSU index eroded by Rs 82,316 crore to Rs 14,10,674.61 crore today against Rs 14,92,991.36 crore on Friday last week.

Analysts said the PSU stocks have taken a hit as the government did not detail out the expected roadmap for disinvestment of unlisted PSU firms.

"In my view, equity market is disappointed because the Finance Minister did not touch generic announcements like FDI hike in few sectors and no significant mention on divestments also made short-term participants more jittery," Birla Sun Life Insurance Company CIO Vikram Kotak said.

The BSE PSU index plunged over 450 points to settled at 7,773.24 points against the Friday's close of 8,226.83 points.

In the Budget, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said, "The PSU are wealth of the nation and part of this wealth should rest in the hands of the people. While retaining at least 51 per cent government equity in our enterprises, I propose to encourage people's participation in our disinvestment programme."

The drop in PSU stocks is in sharp contrast to their gaining streak a week before the Budget.