Indian equity market closed marginally lower on Thursday as the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the interim budget without any major announcements, ahead of the general elections this year.
The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex fell 106 points or 0.15% to settle at 71,645. The broader NSE Nifty declined 28 points or 0.13% to end at 21,697.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman promised economic reforms to drive growth in her budget speech, which was largely expected to avoid significant spending on new welfare programmes ahead of the election.
The government has set a target to narrow the fiscal deficit to 5.1% in the fiscal year 2024-25 and reduce its borrowings to below economists’ estimates.
The Indian government will borrow a gross of Rs 14.13 lakh crore in the fiscal year starting April 1, compared with Rs 15.43 lakh crore for the current fiscal, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
Shares of fintech firm Paytm closed at the 20% lower circuit after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) restricted Paytm Payments Bank from accepting fresh deposits and conducting credit transactions across its services due to supervisory concerns.
Among the sectors, Nifty PSU Bank index was the top gainer, rising 3.1%, led by Punjab & Sind Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, PNB, and Canara Bank. On the other hand, Nifty Metal, Pharma, Realty, Healthcare, Consumer Durables, Media, and IT closed in the red.
The market breadth was skewed in the favour of the bears. About 2,021 stocks declined, 1,819 gained, and 102 remained unchanged on the BSE.
