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The rail cargo is expected to reach 1600 million tonnes, up from 1210 million tonnes in 2020. Western and Eastern dedicated freight corridors are also expected to be completed in the same timeline.The National Rail Plan targets a 45% modal share for railways by 2030, with estimated investments of 50 lakh crore in the same period.

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​​​For equity investors, the focus would be on three key factors. First is fiscal consolidation. Whether the government keeps its commitment to bringing down the fiscal deficit to 4.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) over the medium term in FY26 would be keenly tracked.

"A rising price (of gold) probably puts some pressure on investors, with a lot of people holding back their investments while they wait for a correction. A rising interest rate structure coupled with inflationary pressures that the economy has been witnessing for most part of this year has also posed challenges," Kavitha Krishnan, Senior Analyst Manager Research, Morningstar India, said.

Either of these moves would be welcomed by the Indian developer community and help accelerate projects that are stuck for want of capital. This would, in turn, spur developers to pursue more affordable housing projects and align themselves with the mission of Housing for All.

We feel participants should maintain their focus on stock selection amid the prevailing consolidation phase in the index and wait for a decisive breakout on either side. Going ahead, the upcoming earnings announcement of index majors might provide the needed trigger. Besides, global cues, especially the performance of the US indices, will remain in focus.

"Subdued Q3 results, soft Budget expectations, a slowing economy, FII selling, and concerns over global interest rate hikes defined the market in the past week," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Private lender Axis Bank is among a range of domestic companies that will announce earnings on Monday. Here are some of the key corporate earnings to watch out for:

Industrial production fell 0.7% in December, thus marking the worst decline since September 2021 as manufacturing loses its momentum further due to high-interest rates and elevated prices. The data showed a decline of 1.10% in November.

This time around, metal stocks have generally been on the positive side in the last month. So, there is a 60% chance that we are going to see a positive move post the Union Budget. The power sector has been witnessing profit booking since September, pulled down majorly by institutional activity. Institutions have been net sellers to the tune of Rs.1463 crore in the last four months.