Benchmark indices trade higher in early trade
The Hindu
NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC and HDFC Bank were the major winners
Equity benchmark indices began the trade on a positive note on February 21 and were trading higher helped by buying in HDFC twins and mixed trends in Asian markets.
The BSE Sensex advanced 159.54 points to 60,851.08 after a firm beginning. The NSE Nifty gained 61.25 points to 17,905.85.
From the Sensex pack, NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC and HDFC Bank were the major winners.
Axis Bank, Titan, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the major laggards.
In Asian markets, South Korea and China were trading in the green, while Hong Kong and Japan quoted lower.
The U.S. markets were shut on Monday for 'Presidents Day'.
"Local equities may eke out small gains in early Tuesday trade, but the trading session could be more or less range-bound due to absence of cues from the U.S. markets, which was closed on Monday on account of Presidents Day.
The Union Budget unveiled on February 1, 2025, has come at a time of unprecedented global uncertainty and a flagging domestic economy. The real GDP growth is estimated at 6.4% for 2024-25 and between 6.3-6.8% for 2025-26, a far cry from >8 percent growth required annually to make India a developed nation by 2047. While much attention has been devoted to the demand stimulus through income tax cuts, not enough is said about the proposed reforms in urban development, tariff rationalisation, and regulatory simplification aimed at making Indian cities and corporates more competitive. Since the majority of economic activity is located in cities (urban areas account for ~55% of GDP) and produced by large corporates (~40% of the national output and 55% of India’s exports), the above-mentioned reforms have a pivotal role in improving India’s trend growth rate. Below we unpack each reform.