Nifty, Sensex recover after Saturday’s sharp fall on budget woes

 Indian shares came off early losses to trade higher on Monday as investors bought into stocks that fell sharply on Saturday, while the rupee weakened in its first trading session since the federal budget announcement.

The broader NSE Nifty 50 index .NSEI rose 0.66% to 11,738.80 by 0504 GMT, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex .BSESN advanced 0.47% to 39,926.27.

The rupee weakened about 0.16% to 71.52 per dollar.

“A good deal of negativity has been priced in,” Anand James, chief market strategist at Kochi-based Geojit Financial Services said, adding that some sectors such as banking and housing finance stocks saw some strength.

The benchmark 10-year bond rose to 99.5650 rupees, compared with its Friday close of 98.9200 rupees, pushing the yield down 9 bps, as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not announce any additional borrowing for the current fiscal year in her budget speech on Saturday.

Sitharaman’s budget raised spending on farms and expressways and offered cuts in personal taxes, but the measures failed to address concerns of lower consumer spending and investment.

Shares fell during a special trading session on Saturday to their lowest closing level in more than three months.

Auto and consumer stocks drove the equities market on Monday, with their index .NIFTYAUTO rising 1.2%. The Nifty FMCG index .NIFTYFMCG rose 1.28%, led by heavyweight stocks Hindustan Unilever (HLL.NS) and Nestle India (NEST.NS), which topped the Nifty 50 index.

Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL.NS) and Asian Paints (ASPN.NS) were also among the top gainers on the Nifty, rising 3.2% and 4.1%, respectively as oil prices slumped due to worries about lower demand in virus-hit China.

Cigarettes-to-software conglomerate ITC Ltd (ITC.NS) was among the top losers, falling 2.9% as the budget proposed raising taxes on cigarettes.

Broader Asian shares also stumbled on fears of the fast-spreading coronavirus.