Sensex, Nifty hit over 4-week high as FM begins Budget speech

A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices surged after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the credibility of the Indian economy has been re-established in the last 9 months and said that the government is targeting a reduction of fiscal deficit to 3% of GDP in 3 years. The barometer index, the S&P Sensex, and the 50-unit CNX Nifty, both, hit their highest level in more than four weeks. Jaitley began his budget speech in Lok Sabha at 11:00 IST as he tables Union Budget 2015-16 in parliament. The Sensex was currently up 274.56 points or 0.94% at 29,494.68. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong.

Jaitley said that the world is acknowledging that India is rising, he said. Credibility of Indian economy has been re-established, Arun Jaitley said. The Finance Minister said that GDP growth is expected to accelerate to 8% to 8.5% in FY 2015-16 from 7.4% expected in the current year based on new series. Aiming for double-digit growth now seems feasible, he added.

Bank stocks rose across the board. Housing finance companies were in demand. Housing finance major HDFC scaled a record high.

Due to the major event viz. the Budget, stock exchanges are conducting a live trading session today, 28 February 2015, despite it being a Saturday. Trading began at 9:15 IST and will conclude at 15:30 IST.

At 11:15 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 274.56 points or 0.94% at 29,494.68. The index jumped 303.75 points at the day's high of 29,523.87 in morning trade, its highest level since 30 January 2015.

The CNX Nifty was up 77.05 points or 0.87% at 8,921.65. The index hit a high of 8,930.65 in intraday trade, its highest level since 30 January 2015. The index hit a low of 8,887.90 in intraday trade.

The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong. On BSE, 1,408 shares gained and 805 shares fell. A total of 85 shares were unchanged.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 84.85 points or 0.78% at 10,896.31. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 94.29 points or 0.83% at 11,413.85. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 1169 crore by 11:15 IST, compared with turnover of Rs 736 crore by 10:15 IST.

Bank stocks rose across the board. Among private bank stocks, ICICI Bank (up 1.81%), HDFC Bank (up 0.81%), IndusInd Bank (up 0.34%), ING Vysya Bank (up 0.44%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 0.5%), Axis Bank (up 0.93%) and Yes Bank (up 0.26%), gained.

Among PSU bank stocks, State Bank of India (SBI) (up 1.12%), Punjab National Bank (up 1.72%), Bank of Baroda (up 3.01%), Canara Bank (up 2.23%), Bank of India (up 1.02%) and Union Bank of India (up 1.11%) gained.

Housing finance companies were in demand. LIC Housing Finance (up 0.3%), Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (up 2.25%), Gruh Finance (up 4.99%) and Can Fin Homes (up 1.6%) gained.

Housing finance major HDFC gained 2.14% to Rs 1,374 after scaling a record high of Rs 1,379 in intraday trade.

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