Budget 2025: Sensex, Nifty tank post FM speech; L&T, UltraTech, SBI, PowerGrid top losers

Indian share market were reeling under selling pressure on Budget day, swinging between gains and losses, as investors digested Budget 2015 proposals. The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty tumbled as much as 0.6% after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman concluded her Budget speech in the Parliament today.

At the time of reporting, the BSE Sensex was trading 267 points lower at 77,233, and the NSE Nifty dropped 107 points to 23,401 level. The 30-shares Sensex dropped as much as 494 points, or 0.6%, to 77,006 post Budget announcements, while the Nifty50 slipped 154 points, or 0.65%, to 23,346 mark.

Early today, the BSE Sensex opened 136 points higher at 77,637 and the NSE Nifty belled the day at 23,528.60, up 22 points. The Dalal Street has maintained buying momentum for the last four sessions, with Sensex and Nifty rising nearly 3% during this period amid hope that the government would strike a balance between fiscal deficit, capex for growth and social spending to revitalise the world’s fifth largest economy.

Top gainers and losers

The top five losers on the BSE Sensex pack were UltraTech Cement, Larsen and Toubro, PowerGrid, Tata Steel and State Bank of India. UltraTech Cement topped the losers chart with a loss of 4%, followed by L&T, which dropped over 3%. The other stocks fell in the range of 2-3%.

On the other hand, Zomato, Maruti, HUL, ITC, and M&M were among top gainers, rising in the range of 6-4%.

Analysts view on Budget

According to expert, capital expenditure estimate is a mild negative, while simplification of tax code, increase in insurance FDI, and increase in the taxable income limit to Rs. 12 lakh are positive for the market.

The decision to raise the FDI limit in the insurance sector from 74% to 100% is expected to benefit the insurance industry by attracting global players to the domestic market, says Raj Gaikar, Research Analyst, SAMCO Securities.

“The budget manages to deliver on consumption, investment and social welfare without compromising on fiscal prudence. The fiscal deficit to GDP for FY26 is budgeted at 4.4% of GDP, ensuring a downward trend in debt to GDP levels. Overall, the budget places India in a strong position and shall play an important role in towards achieving the objective of Viksit Bharat by 2047,” says Ashishkumar Chauhan, MD & CEO, NSE India.

“It is a ‘middle class sukino bhavantu’ budget which should boost consumption. Revival of urban consumption will have a positive multiplier effect on the economy helping mitigate the effect of slowdown seen in the last couple of quarters,” says Sandeep Nayak ED & CEO of Retail Broking Centrum Broking Ltd.

Shripal Shah, MD & CEO, Kotak Securities, says the Union Budget 2025 is clearly focused on stimulating consumer demand to accelerate growth while ensuring fiscal stability. With economic expansion slowing over the past two quarters, the newly announced measures aim to reignite momentum. “While we await more details, the government's decision to keep capital gains tax and Securities Transaction Tax (STT) unchanged will ensure stability in tax regimes for capital market investors.”

Upasna Bhardwaj, Chief Economist, Kotak Mahindra Bank, said, “The Union Budget has struck the right chord balancing the fiscal prudence with supporting the slowdown in private demand. The re-emphasis on fiscal consolidation roadmap over the next few years too remains comforting for the markets.”

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