Benchmark indices plunged in trade, as investors resorted to profit booking, following the Union Budget. While the maiden budget of Nirmala Sitharaman was largely welcomed, investors may have resorted to profit booking, because of the large position that were taken in the last few weeks. Interestingly, the markets fell despite a consolidation in the fiscal deficit to 2019-20.

Among the major proposals for the stock market were investment limit for foreign investors in listed securities, which will be harmonised with foreign direct investment limit in the relevant sector. There was also a proposal to merge NRI portfolio limits with FPI limits.
The Sensex ended the day lower by 394 points, while the Nifty closed lower by 132 points. Leading the set of gainers in trade were stocks like IndiaBulls Housing, IndusInd Bank and State Bank of India.

Yes Bank was the major loser in trade today and lost as much as 8 per cent. Global cues were stable, with only marginal losses seen across Europe. The German DAX was down 28 points, while the French CAC dropped by 16 points. Markets may continue to be volatile next week and it would be interesting to see how they react further.

GoodReturns.in