Live Market Updates: BSE Sensex up 140 points as FM opens Budget speech

Moneycontrol Bureau

Looking for positive reforms in the Union Budget, the market is holding up gains strongly. As the Finance Minister P Chidambaram opened his Budget speech, the Sensex was up 140.59 points or 0.73% at 19293.00 while the Nifty added 41.55 points or 0.72% at 5838.45.

Most gainers on the Sensex were Coal India, L&T and BHEL. Losers on the BSE included Maruti Suzuki, GAIL and Dr Reddy’s Lab.

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Pankaj Vaish, MD & Head of Markets-South Asia, Citigroup feels that the FM has already done some remarkable things since September. He and his team has not only arrested the freefall but reverse the sentiment, he adds.

"However, our concern is growth slowdown and today they will hopefully deliver a very good Budget because the team is very savvy, sophisticated, they have been on the road including with Citi to Hong Kong and have done a masterful job in talking about the India story and the change in sentiment to global investors," he says in an interview to CNBC-TV18.