Nifty and Sensex are expected to open lower ahead of the Union Budget, with Reliance and HDFC Bank in focus

Nifty and Sensex Likely to Open Lower Before Union Budget, Spotlight on Reliance and HDFC Bank

Written by: Supriya Kadu

Edited by: Pinky Deshmukh

Last Updated: July 22, 2024

Summary: With futures trading at 24,403 points as of 8:14 am, the GIFT Nifty indicated a weaker opening for the NSE Nifty 50, implying a start below the Friday closing of 24,530.

In anticipation of the union budget announcement on July 23, benchmark indices are predicted to open lower on Monday. We'll be watching carefully how the market responds to the quarterly earnings releases of big businesses like Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank.

As of 8:14 am, the GIFT Nifty was trading at 24,403 points, indicating a start below the Friday close of 24,530.9, indicating a lower opening for the NSE Nifty 50.

The Nifty has increased over the past seven weeks; but, last week's gain was negligible after a 1% drop on Friday. Widespread profit booking at or near record-high levels in advance of the next budget is to blame for this decline.

"Currently, the market isn't anticipating negative surprises in areas like income tax, capital gains tax, or securities transaction tax. However, any changes could have a short-term negative impact," said Capitalmind Research’s senior research analyst, Krishna Appala.

With fewer loan-loss provisions, HDFC Bank, the biggest private lender in India and the most heavily weighted stock in the Nifty 50, beat quarterly profit projections on Saturday.

Given reduced fuel sales margins, Reliance Industries, a significant oil-to-telecom conglomerate, revealed first-quarter earnings on Friday that fell short of analysts' projections.

With weak demand in Europe and the Asia-Pacific area, Wipro missed quarterly sales expectations on Friday; therefore, the company will also be under scrutiny.

While Wall Street futures surged after US President Joe Biden withdrew from the election, Asian shares fell in the wider markets despite a surprise rate drop by China's central bank.

Stocks to watch:

Because of rising expenses and sluggish demand, JSW Steel's first-quarter profit fell more than anticipated.
Patanjali Foods' quarterly profit increased threefold as edible oil prices remained steady and demand for packaged foods rose.
PVR Inox revealed that its first-quarter deficit was nearly doubled due to a shortage of big-budget Bollywood releases and poor box office performance.

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