Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty -- ended in negative terrain with minor losses in volatile session. After making a positive start, soon index turned volatile, as traders were cautious with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry data showing that India’s core sector output growth hit a 14-month low of 3.8 per cent year-on-year in December on the back of a high base and a moderation in the growth of six constituent sectors. However, index managed to trade higher for most of the part in morning session, as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was presenting the Union Budget 2024 in Parliament. This is an interim budget as it comes just ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections. In afternoon session, index erased all of its gains and traded below its neutral line, as traders failed to draw any sense of relief from interim budget 2024-25. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman kept Income Tax rates unchanged in the Interim Budget. Meanwhile, Finance Minister increased the infrastructure capital expenditure in the interim budget for FY 2025 by 11.1% to Rs 11.1 lakh crore. Finally, index ended below its neutral line with marginal losses.
Traders were seen piling up positions in PSU Bank, Auto and Bank stocks, while selling was witnessed in Media, Metal and Reality. The top gainers from the F&O segment were Godrej Consumer Products, Canara Bank and Punjab National Bank. On the other hand, the top losers were India Cements, Aurobindo Pharma and Voltas. In the index option segment, maximum OI continues to be seen in the 21900 - 22100 calls and 20900 - 21100 puts indicating this is the trading range expectation.
