The benchmark indices ended on a positive note on Friday after two consecutive sessions of losses, lifted by a sudden surge in the last 15 minutes on a day when the indices remained rangebound for the majority of the duration.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 38,862.23, up 177.51 points, or 0.46 per cent, with Tata Steel being the top gainer and State Bank of India being the biggest loser. About 1,500 shares advanced, 1,049 shares declined, and 165 shares remained unchanged.
The NSE’s Nifty50 index closed above 11,650 level at 11,665.95, up 68 points, or 0.59 per cent.
Metal stocks advanced the most, followed by realty and IT counters. The Nifty Metal index ended almost 2 per cent higher at 3,132.35.
On a weekly basis, the S&P BSE Sensex ended 0.49 per cent higher while the NSE Nifty 50 gained 0.36 per cent on a weekly basis.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap index surged 97 points or 0.63 per cent to close at 15,509. The S&P BSE SmallCap rose 108 points or 0.72 per cent to end at 15,046.
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The benchmark indices settled over 0.5 per cent higher on Friday after Finance Minister Piyush Goyal announced a string of populist measures in his Interim Budget 2019 speech in the Parliament.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 36,469, up 213 points or 0.59 per cent, while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,894, up 63 points or 0.58 per cent.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index ended at 14,641, up 81 points or 0.56 per cent, while the S&P BSE SmallCap settled at 13,950, up 24 points or 0.17 per cent.
Among sectors, the Nifty Auto index was the top gainer of the day, rising 2.71 per cent led by Hero MotoCorp and Maruti Suzuki. The Nifty IT index too rose 1.45 per cent led by HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra.
In a major relief to the middle-class taxpayer, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, in his Interim Budget 2019 speech announced that those earning up to Rs 5 lakh a year would not have to pay any tax. He also said that those with an annual income of up to Rs 6.5 lakh would not have to file income-tax returns.
Goyal also announced PM Kisan Samadhan Nidhi scheme in which, farmers owning up to 2 hectares of land will get Rs 6,000 per annum, which will be completely funded by the central government. This scheme is likely to benefit 12 crore small and marginal farmers, at an estimated cost of Rs. 75,000 crore, he said. Apart from this, he also said that the government has set aside Rs 60,000 crore for MGNREGA this year, and allocated Rs 19,000 crore for Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
The finance minister also said that the country’s defence budget for FY20 has been increased to Rs 3 lakh crore.
The government allocated Rs 64,587 crore for railways in FY20, Goyal said adding that the railway operating ratio was seen 96.2 per cent in FY19 vs 95 per cent in FY20.
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