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Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman announced the expansion of Nano DAP application on various crops in all agro-climatic zones. This is part of the initiatives by the Modi 2.0 government. Fertilizer stocks were weak, with Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers, Fertilizer and Chemicals Travancore, Chambal Fertilizers & Chemicals, Khaitan Chemicals & Fertilizers, and Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals trading down. Coromandel International was among the gainers. Sitharaman also announced a strategy for achieving self-sufficiency in oil seeds. The Nifty remained positive, and the FM increased the capex allocation by 11.1%.

Prashant Jain praises the Indian economy and the budget. He believes the budget has provided good support for PSU stocks and key sectors like capex, infrastructure, railways, defence, and Make in India. Despite weak exports and tightening money conditions, the economy remains strong. Jain suggests that large banks and NBFCs focused on project finance will have good growth opportunities. He also mentions that power demand in India will increase, although the power sector has already rerated and may pause in rerating.

Shares of defence-related companies declined due to profit booking after the 2024 Interim Budget speech, which raised allocations for the defence sector. The total capital outlay for defence is now Rs 6.2 lakh crore, an increase of 4.4% from the FY24 budget. The government had previously increased the defence budget by 13.8% to Rs 5.94 lakh crore in FY24. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also announced a new scheme for strengthening deep-tech technologies for defence purposes.

Sunil Singhania discusses the Interim Budget, stating that nothing major was expected as it is a vote on account. He notes the continuation of fiscal prudence and highlights the surprise of the fiscal deficit target for next year being 5.1%. Singhania mentions the positive outlook on the Indian economy and the possibility of the government being more aggressive on disinvestment. He also emphasizes the consistency in governance and expresses optimism in sectors like railways and solar rooftop generation.

Revenue grew 6.4% from a year in the quarter to Rs 1,569 crore while expenses increased 7.8% to Rs 1,343 crore. Corporate tax fell 78.5% to Rs 14.2 crore from Rs 66.2 crore a year earlier

Airtel’s Africa unit, though, reported subscriber additions and higher average revenue per user (ARPU) in the quarter

When the stock prices move downward and open interest on the counter increases, it is taken as a sign of a short build-up.

The Relative Strength Index of the stock stood at 34.16 on Thursday.

There were neither any shocks nor pleasant surprises in the interim Budget, with no myopic measures being announced. The government did not bow down to the populist measures in the election year and kept the tax regime unchanged but ensured fiscal prudence. The fiscal deficit is set at 5.1%, significantly lower than expected.