Sensex slumps over 200 points, Nifty test 11,900 ahead of Budget; Tech Mahindra, PowerGrid, Tata Steel, among top losers

Sensex slumped over 200 points in the opening session on Saturday ahead of the release of the Union Budget to be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman later in the day.

#CNBCTV18Market | Ahead of #Budget2020, Dalal Street opens lower, #Nifty just above 11,900#BudgetWithCNBCTV18 pic.twitter.com/yABJ5oJpvp

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) February 1, 2020

After shedding 279 points in early trade, the 30-share BSE index was trading 124.96 points or 0.31 percent lower at 40,598.53, and the broader NSE Nifty slipped 23.10 points, or 0.19 percent, to 11,939. In the previous session, Sensex settled 190.33 points, or 0.47 percent, lower at 40,723.49, after the Economic Survey suggested relaxing fiscal deficit target to boost growth from a decade low. Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty shed 73.70 points, or 0.61 percent, to finish at 11,962.10. On a net basis, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 4,179.12 crore, while domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 3,816.44 crore on Friday, data available with stock exchanges showed. Tech Mahindra, PowerGrid, Tata Steel, NTPC, Kotak Bank and HCL Tech were among the top laggards, shedding up to 3 percent.

#CNBCTV18Market | Here are the top gainers in the opening hour of trade pic.twitter.com/L5eTGtFHqF

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) February 1, 2020

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On the other hand, HUL, UltraTech Cement, Maruti and Asian Paints were trading with gains. According to analysts, investors are cautious ahead of the Union Budget as all eyes will be on how centre is going to bring growth as any increase in spending would result in widening of fiscal deficit. Negative cues from global markets amid concerns over China’s coronavirus outbreak continued to weigh on investor sentiment here, traders said. Benchmarks on Wall Street ended with sharp losses on Friday.