Sensex tanks 395 points as Budget 2019 fails to cheer investors

Domestic indices plummeted on Friday as Modi government’s Union Budget for 2019-20 failed to cheer investors. Even though the markets opened higher with the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex zooming past the 40,000 mark to hit 40,032, the index fell over 500 points from the highs.

The S&P BSE Sensex closed 395 points, or 0.99 per cent, lower at 39,513 levels with the YES Bank, NTPC and Mahindra & Mahindra being the top laggards. The broader Nifty50 index tanked 136 points, or 1.14 levels, to end at 11,811 levels.

In the broader market, S&P BSE Mid-Cap ended 208 points, or 1.39 per cent, lower at 14,726 levels while the S&P BSE Small-Cap dipped 195 points, or 1.36 levels, to settle at 14,142 levels.

Sectorally, all the indices ended in the red except Nifty PSU bank and Nifty Bank index that gained after the finance minister announced that the government will pump in Rs 70,000 crore into public sector banks (PSBs) to strengthen them and enhance their lending capacity.

Metals, realty and auto counters were the biggest losers after the Budget proposed import duty hike for auto-parts, metals and other equipment used for manufacturing capital goods. Each index slipped over 3 per cent. PSU Bank index closed 0.18 per cent higher after gaining nearly 4 per cent intra-day on government’s proposal to recapitalize banks.

Shares of GM Breweries hit a 52-week low of Rs 455, down 8 per cent, in Friday’s early morning trade on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), after the company reported a 27 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 16 crore in the first quarter of fiscal 2019-20 (FY20), due to higher raw material cost. The company engaged in breweries & distilleries had posted a profit of Rs 22 crore in June 2018 quarter.

Agarwal Industrial Corp shares zoomed by 5% after CARE for the first time assigned to the company ‘BBB’ rating for bank facilities (short term) for an aggregate amount of Rs 100 crore.

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