(RTTNews.com) – The Indian markets opened sharply higher on Monday after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s first full-year budget unveiled several measures to woo foreign investors and help kick start the investment cycle. Jaitley promised lower than expected market borrowing even as the fiscal deficit target came in higher than market expectations.
The Modi government is now preparing itself for a direct confrontation with the Opposition by introducing six bills to replace a set of Ordinances in the Lok Sabha this week.
Global cues remain supportive, with Asian stocks trading mostly higher as an interest rate cut in China offset soft U.S. data.
The benchmark index BSE Sensex is currently up 203 points or 0.69 percent at 29,564, while the broader Nifty index is up 67 points or 0.75 percent at 8,969.
BPCL, HPCL and IOC are up 3-4 percent after increasing petrol and diesel prices.
Jet Airways is tumbling 4 percent and rival SpiceJet is plunging 4.6 percent as the state-run oil companies hiked the price of aviation turbine fuel prices by 8.2 percent on Sunday on firming international oil rates.
Automaker Tata Motors is marginally higher, Maruti Suzuki is adding a percent and Bajaj Auto is rising 1.6 percent as they unveil February sales data.
Among other prominent gainers, HDFC Bank, HDFC, IDFC, Larsen & Toubro, ACC, BHEL, UltraTech Cement, Axis Bank and Ambuja Cement are up 2-3 percent.
For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com
http://www.rttnews.com