Market cheers Eco Survey data; Sensex, Nifty extend rally ahead of Budget; L&T, Nestle, Tata group stocks lead gains

Indian benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty extended gain for the fourth consecutive session in the run-up to the Union Budget 2025, set to be unveiled by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tomorrow. The Dalal Street reacted positively to Economic Survey data which was tabled in the Parliament today, which pegged a GDP growth rate of 6.3-6.8% for the next financial year.

The 30-share Sensex ended higher by 741 points, or 0.97%, at 77,500, and the Nifty50 settled at 23,508, up by 259 points, or 1.11%. Broader markets outperformed the benchmarks with Nifty Midcap100 and Nifty Smallcap100 indices surging 1.8% and 2.1%, respectively.

Early today, the Sensex opened 129 points higher at 76,889, against the previous closing price of 76,760, while it gained as much as 790 points, or 1%, to hit an intraday high of 77,550.  In a similar trend, the Nifty50 gained as much as 281 points, or 1.2% to hit day’s high of 23,531 after opening 47 points higher at 23,297.

In the last four sessions, the Sensex has risen 2,134 points, and the Nifty added 679 points during this period as investors rushed to buy ahead of the Union Budget.  So far in January, the 30-share Sensex and Nifty have seen a correction of 1%, while BSE midcap and smallcap indices have fallen 7% and 10%, respectively.

Sector wise, railway-related stocks witnessed strong buying, with index heavyweight IRFC, RVNL, IRCON, RailTel, IRCTC, Titagarh Rail, and Jupiter Wagons rising up to 10% ahead of the Budget announcement tomorrow.

Among individual stocks, L&T and Nestle India were among top gainers, surging up to 5% as investors reacted positively to their December quarter earnings. IndusInd Bank shares ended nearly 4% ahead of its Q3 results, while Tata Group stocks Titan, Tata Motors, and Tata Steel added up to 4%. Among others, ITC, HUL, Maruti, Adani Ports, Asian Paints, were notable gainers.

On the other hand, ITC Hotels, JSW Steel, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj twins Bajaj FinServ and Bajaj Finance were among top laggards, falling in the range of 0.2-3%.