SV Prasad of Schroders said there is a hope that FBT may be scrapped. He added that he is concerned on the signals the Budget will give on corporate taxation and service tax, etc.He stated that the Budget will be a clear signal and investors must stick to known stocks.

“The Budget is something that I will clearly lookout for and see how the market reacts to it. One may say that markets are getting de-linked with the Budget. But the reality of the matter is that Budget is a big signal. There is this huge hope being built that FBT may go and you may have a surcharge. I think that is a huge thing,” he stated.

He further added, “I am not so much concerned on individual taxation. It is more on the corporate taxation side that one will see and signals on things like service tax, etc. To me, the Budget is a clear signal. I would rather stick to the known stocks and not touch the speculative ones. That would be my approach in this kind of market. Be very disciplined on asset allocation.”