Sensex jumps over 100 points ahead of Budget 2019

Mumbai: The BSE benchmark Sensex Friday jumped over 100 points ahead of the Budget presentation by Finance Minister Piyush Goyal amid heavy buying by foreign portfolio investors.

The 30-share index was trading 119.01 points, or 0.33 per cent, higher at 36,375.70.

Similarly, the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 34.15, or 0.32 per cent, to 10,865.10.

On Thursday, the 30-share Sensex rallied 665.44 points, or 1.87 per cent, to close at 36,256.69; and the broader Nifty soared 179.15 points, or 1.68 per cent, to 10,830.95..

Top gainers in the Sensex pack include Hero MotoCorp, HCL Tech, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, HDFC, HUL, M&M, L&T, ITC and Maruti, rising up to 2.91 per cent.

Vedanta was the biggest loser on



Sensex, cracking over 18 per cent after the metals and mining giant Thursday reported a 25.54 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,574 crore for the December 2018 quarter, on the back of higher expenses and drop in commodity prices.

Other losers include PowerGrid, ONGC, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank and Sun Pharma, shedding up to 1.14 per cent.

According to Hemang Jani, Head - Advisory at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, the government might look to boost the rural and agri sector ahead of the general election.