On the special trading session scheduled for today, February 1, as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman prepares to present the Union Budget 2025 at 11 AM, the Indian stock market opened on a firm note. The NSE Nifty 50 gained 33.50 points, or 0.14%, opening at 23,545.75, while the BSE Sensex rose by 136.44 points, or 0.18%, starting at 77,637.01.
12:01 PM IST: The Sensex is down 303.92 points or 0.29% at 77,276.65, while the Nifty has declined 101.95 points or 0.43% to 23,406.45.
11:00 AM IST: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman began presenting the Union Budget 2025 in Parliament. As of 11:06 AM, the Sensex is at 77,665.64, up by 165.07 points or 0.21%. The Nifty stands at 23,558.40, up by 50.00 points or 0.21%.
10:35 AM IST: Minutes before the Union Budget presentation scheduled for 11 AM by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Sensex is trading at 77,695.18, up by 194.51 points or 0.25% at 10:35 AM IST. Similarly, the NSE Nifty is at 23,562.75, up by 54.35 points or 0.23%.
At 9:02 AM during the pre-open session on February 1, the Sensex stood at 77,735.17, gaining 234.60 points, or 0.30%. Meanwhile, the Nifty was at 23,580.25, up by 71.85 points, or 0.31%.
Bank Nifty opened 80.40 points or 0.16% lower to trade at 49,506.80. The Nifty Midcap 100 gained 273.05 points, or 0.51%, to open at 53,985.25.
Top gainers and losers
As of the early trading hours, the top gainers in the Sensex 30 pack included Sun Pharma, M&M, NTPC, Zomato, UltraCemco, PowerGrid, LT, and Tata Steel. On the other hand, the top losers were TCS, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Titan, Nestle India, among others.
The top 5 gainers in the Nifty 50 during the early hours included Sun Pharma, BEL, ITC Hotels, UltraCemco, and M&M. Meanwhile, the top losers were ONGC, Hero MotoCorp, Dr. Reddy’s, Titan, and BPCL.
The GIFT Nifty indicated to a subdued opening for the Indian benchmark indices, trading around the 23,533, which is about 87 points lower than the previous Nifty futures close.
“On the Budget day the market reactions will be quick in response to Budget announcements. A major expectation from the Budget is a cut in personal income tax to provide relief to the middle class and boost consumption, thereby facilitating growth recovery. The extent of the tax relief remains to be seen. The fact is that there is no fiscal space for big relief,” said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
“The market will be looking for growth stimulating measures; not market-related taxation reliefs like changes in the capital gains taxation. The market response to the Budget will not last more than a few days. Trends in growth and earnings recovery will dictate the medium to long-term market direction,” he added.
Special trading session on Budget 2025
The Indian stock market is open today for a special trading session due to the Union Budget 2025. Normally, the market is closed on weekends, but today, the BSE, NSE, and MCX are making an exception.
Before regular trading begins, a pre-market session took place from 9:00 AM to 9:08 AM to help set the opening prices. This is the third time in history that the stock market has opened on a Saturday for the Union Budget, with the previous instances being on February 1, 2020, and February 28, 2015.
Indian stock market ends green on the previous day
On the previous day, Indian stock markets finished with strong gains. The Sensex rose by 740.76 points, or 0.97%, closing at 77,500.57, while the Nifty 50 jumped 258.90 points, or 1.11%, finishing at 23,508.40.