Sensex, Nifty turn cautious as FM begins budget presentation

Market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty turned cautious in late-morning trade on Saturday as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman began presenting the Union Budget 2020-21 in Parliament.

After gyrating over 450 points in the morning session, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 30.84 points, or 0.08%, higher at 40,754.33 at 1130 hours.

Similarly, the 50-share NSE Nifty advanced 10.35 or 0.09%, to 11,972.45. Sensex was trading over 150 points higher ahead of the Budget presentation.

Presenting the Budget for 2020-21, Sitharaman said fundamentals of the economy were strong and inflation has been well contained, while banks cleaned up accumulated loans. She said this Budget is aimed at boosting income and purchasing power of people.

Top gainers in the Sensex pack included Maruti, HUL, Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement, TCS, Asian Paints and Bajaj Auto.

However, PowerGrid, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel and ONGC were trading in the red. The forex market remained closed for the weekend.