Sensex, Nifty pare gains, Midcaps slip in red ahead of Budget; Metal, IT weigh
Indian benchmark indices — BSE Sensex and Nifty50 — were off morning highs, but still in green, on Tuesday ahead of the Union Budget 2024-25 presentation by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The BSE Sensex was quoting at 80,550, up 50 points, while the Nifty50 was hovering around 24,520, up 6 points.
In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and the BSE SmallCap indices slipped into the red zone after starting 0.3 per cent higher each.
The gains were pared by the markets as investors sold metal, IT, and FMCG shares. Their sector indices were down up to 0.8 per cent on the NSE.
Stocks to watch on Budget 2024
UCO Bank: UCO Bank reported a significant surge in net profit, which jumped 147 per cent year-on-year to Rs 551 crore for the quarter ending June 2024. The increase was driven by higher other income and interest margins. Non-interest income grew by 32 per cent to Rs 835 crore, while net interest income (NII) rose by 12 per cent to Rs 2,254 crore. Global net interest margin (NIM) also improved to 3.09 per cent from 2.86 per cent a year ago.
IDBI Bank: IDBI Bank recorded a standalone net profit of Rs 1,719.27 crore in the first quarter of FY25, marking a 40.4 per cent increase compared to Rs 1,224.18 crore in the same period last year. On a consolidated basis, Q1 profit stood at Rs 1,739.15 crore.
Gensol Engineering: Gensol Engineering secured a Rs 600 crore contract as the successful bidder for 116-megawatt solar projects in Gujarat. These projects, spread across 27 locations under Paschim Gujarat Vij Co., the state electricity distribution company, were confirmed via regulatory filing.
RailTel: RailTel Corporation of India received a significant contract worth Rs 186.81 crore (including taxes) from the Ministry of Railways (Railway Board). The contract entails designing, developing, implementing, operating, and maintaining a hospital management information system (HMIS) and an integrated empanelled hospital referral portal for Indian Railways.