The BSE barometer, the Sensex gained more than 100 points after the finance minister P. Chidambaram unveiled the interim budget in Lok Sabha on Monday. The Sensex was trading 109.30 points or 0.54% higher at 20,476.12 points at 3.00 pm IST. The NSE?s Nifty was trading 27 points or 0.45% higher at 6,075.35 points
While experts feel that the budget did not provide any major triggers for the markets, the valuations look attractive. ?Vote on account didn?t provide any major surprises either way, positive side or negative side. In the finance minister?s vote on account speech, the commitment was very strong towards maintaining fiscal discipline and keeping inflation under control,? said Raamdeo Agrawal, joint managing director, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
?Markets valuation looks attractive as the aggregate market numbers have a solid base and upcoming elections look promising. The upside could be anything but downside is very limited from here,? he added.
Among sectoral indices, the BSE Bankex (1.24%), BSE Power (1.03%) and BSE Auto (0.75%) were the major gainers.
Among individual stocks, Tata Power (5.01%), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (3.22%) and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (2.36%) were the major gainers on the 30-share Sensex. Tata Power was up as the finance minister announced that the power sector will add another 50,000 MW of capacity. Shares of Mahindra & Mahindra gained as the finance minister cut the excise duty on SUVs from 30% to 24%.
Asian markets were trading in the green. The Hang Seng (1.07%), KOSPI (0.31%), Straits Times (0.94%) and Shanghai Composite (0.92%) were trading higher.
