Mumbai: Market gained strength as the benchmark Sensex on February 29 bounced nearly 140 points as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley started reading out Budget announcements in Parliament amid heavy buying in banks, financials, energy and industrials. Earlier, caution and volatility ruled ahead of the crucial Budget session. There was some selling pressure in consumer durables, FMCG, IT, telecom and auto segments.
The Sensex opened higher at 23,238.50 and moved between 23,293.80 and 23,066.41 before quoting at 23,293.80 just after Jaitley stood up to present the Union Budget, up 139.50 points, or 0.60 per cent. The NSE Nifty was also trading up by 15.25 points, or 0.22 per cent, at 7,045.00.
Major gainers were, SBI 4.06 per cent, M&M 2.76 per cent, Tata Steel 2.68 per cent, ONGC 2.07 per cent, ICICI Bank 1.97 per cent, Dr Reddy's 1.87 per cent and L&T 0.80 per cent. However, Wipro fell 1.87 per cent, GAIL 1.61 per cent, Maruti 1.58 per cent, Cipla 1.46 per cent and Infosys 1.34 per cent.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 695.37 crore last Friday, provisional data showed. Asian markets were trading mixed. US stocks closed slightly lower last Friday, giving up most of their opening gains.
