Budget to be sentiment changer for market: Nirmal Jain

Indian shares closed firm, but way off their intra-day highs, as initial euphoria over a better-than-expected Budget was swiftly overshadowed by near term macro-economic concerns and soaring crude oil prices. The Sensex closed at 17823.40, up 122.49 points or 0.7% over the previous close. The 50-share Nifty index closed at 5333.25, up 29.70 points or 0.6% over the previous close.

In an interview Nirmal Jain, Chairman, IIFL gave his reading of the budget presented by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. Below is a verbatim transcript. Also watch the accompanying video. Q: 5300-5400, would you say that would about do it in terms of the market reaction to the budget? A: I think this budget is sort of a sentiment changer for the market, because if you see this calendar year for 6-7 weeks, the Indian market underperformed other emerging markets, and then there was a fall overall. Despite the broader indices having come down the breadth is very good. I think the sentiment has changed to positive as people understand more details of this budget. Under the circumstances this is the best that the finance minister could have done for the market.