Traders will also watch the budget for incentives to bring back foreign investors, who have piled out of the market. Foreign institutional investors have sold 288.52 billion Indian rupees ($3.53 billion) worth of shares on a net basis in 2023 so far, according to official data. Meanwhile, most Adani Group stocks dropped, extending their losses since short-seller Hindenburg Research's report and despite the group completing a $2.5 billion share sale a day earlier. (Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran and Nallur Sethruaman in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng and Savio D'Souza)
+919769003463)) (Adds analyst comment, updates shares)
By Sethuraman N R
BENGALURU, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Indian shares rose on
Wednesday ahead of the Union budget, which investors will
closely watch for government measures, including spending to aid
the long-term growth of the economy, with a global slowdown in
the vicinity.
The Nifty 50 index rose 0.73% to 17,790.75, while
the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.76% to 60,000 as of 10:18
a.m. IST. Both benchmarks fell over 2% in January, their second
straight monthly loss.
Indian government bond yields were marginally lower in early
trading, while the Indian rupee opened higher versus
the dollar. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union
budget at 11:00 a.m. IST, in which the Indian government will
likely seek to lower its fiscal deficit, while offering
incentives for investment to taxpayers.
This is the last full-year budget before the national
elections in 2024 and key state elections later this year.
"The big number markets we will look out for is how (much)
the government is going to spend on the infrastructure and
capital goods side," said Saurabh Jain, assistant
vice-president, research, SMC Global Securities.
"Also, investors will watch how the government will improve
the rural demand and on the employment side," he added.
Banks and financials were the top
gainers among the 13 major sectors, rising 1.1% and 1.2%,
respectively.
India has pegged its economic growth at 6-6.8% in the
2023/24 fiscal year, the slowest in three years, at its
pre-budget economic survey released on Tuesday.
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