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“FII exodus has come out of the relative valuation of India versus the world and this Budget was not something that could have completely changed sentiment because the government has to do fiscal consolidation. They have to stimulate growth and they have done both. This is the reason why the immediate reaction has been positive but the Budget cannot change market valuations.”

The Nifty Pharma index closed 0.04 per cent down at 12355.8.

Shares of HDFC Life Insurance nosedived 12% to Rs 510.30, while SBI Life Insurance plunged 9% to Rs 1,119. The country’s largest life insurer Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) declined 5% to Rs 618.40. Max Financial plummeted 10% to Rs 752.10. PB Fintech dropped 7% to Rs 397.25.

Jubilant has been expanding aggressively over the last few quarters to smaller towns and cities in the country, which further weighed on its profit margins. The company, which also has franchise rights for Popeyes outlets in the subcontinent, opened 64 stores in India during the quarter, entering 16 new cities.

“If someone wants to add positions in the market, banks are the best way of doing it. So, 40% weightage in Nifty and obviously you would like to participate in the economy related sectors and therefore if you just look at that, banks automatically become the first choice. So it is very, very normal.”

"The policy on the replacement of old polluting vehicles should accelerate the transition towards EVs, which is in line with the Budget’s aim to spur eco-conscious lifestyles. Overall, we are happy with the budget as it is inclusive, and progressive and will encourage investments in the EV sector," Korimerla added.

Adani Enterprises and Adani Port are constituents of the Nifty 50, so they are automatically in portfolios of some exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index funds. But active funds have very little exposure to Adani stocks and are largely unscathed by their fall.

Adani stocks came under pressure after global investment banker Credit Suisse assigned zero lending value for bonds sold by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Adani Green Energy and Adani Electricity Mumbai. It has stopped accepting bonds of Adani companies as collateral for margin loans to its private banking clients following allegations made in Hindenburg report, Bloomberg said.

From the Sensex pack, ICICI Bank and Tata steel were the top gainers, rising over 2%. ITC, HDFC Bank, L&T, TCS, HDFC and Kotak Bank closed with gains

“The rural demand this year so far has been slightly higher than urban demand. The growth of retail in rural is about 24% compared to 22% for the urban areas. Going forward, these measures should pull up Maruti Suzuki’s sales in rural areas. It is already 44% of our portfolio.”