Sat Feb 01 17:51:40 UTC 2025: ## Budget 2025-26: Middle Class Relief, Mixed Market Reaction
**New Delhi:** Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2025-26 today, offering significant relief to the middle class. However, the stock market’s reaction was mixed, showing initial gains followed by a subsequent decline.
The pre-opening session saw a surge in the market, but this was short-lived, with considerable volatility throughout the day. While the Sensex closed marginally higher at 77,505, up 5 points, the Nifty ended lower by 26 points at 23,482. This comes after a year of significant market downturn, with hopes that the budget would revitalize the market.
The budget’s impact on individual sectors varied. IT companies saw muted enthusiasm, with TCS and Infosys shares declining. IRCTC also experienced a drop in share prices. The market initially rose sharply following the budget announcement, at one point climbing over 387 points for the Sensex and 115 for Nifty, but subsequently fell over 183 points for the Sensex.
The mixed market reaction contrasts with the positive response to the Economic Survey 2024-25, presented on January 31st, which had initially boosted market indices. Historically, Budget days have shown a mixed record, with six instances of market gains and eight instances of losses in the last ten years. Despite the initial positive reaction and the hope for a sustained boost, the budget’s ultimate impact on the stock market remains to be seen.
First Piper 