Nifty above 12,000, Sensex up 130 pts as Sitharaman presents Union Budget 2020

New Delhi, Feb 01: The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes recovered early losses and extended gains in a knee-jerk reaction as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman started delivering the Budget speech to Parliament on Saturday.

BSE market capitalisation rose by nearly Rs 1 lakh crore to Rs 157.46 lakh crore from Rs 156.50 lakh crore on Friday.

BSE Sensex traded 149 points higher at 40,872.50. The 30-stock pack was up 40 points before the FM started her speech. Nifty traded 37.90 points up at 12,000.

In her initial speech, Sitharaman said fundamentals of the economy are strong and inflation has been well contained, while banks cleaned up accumulated loans. Presenting the Union Budget for 2020-21, she said it is aimed at boosting income and purchasing power of people.

The Finance Minister further said that during 2014-19, the government brought a paradigm shift in governance. She termed GST as a historic structural reform, saying it integrated the country economically.