The key equity indices ended a roller coaster session with tepid gains on Wednesday. The Nifty ended a tad below 17,650 mark after hitting the day's high at 17,972.20 in afternoon trade. The Budget for 2023-24 was laid down in the Parliament by the Union Finance Minister. Investors cheered after the central government announced a slew of measures to boost capital expenditure spending in country while simultaneously providing relief to highest taxpayers, all this coupled with reigning the fiscal deficit to below 4.5% of GDP by 2025-26. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 158.18 points or 0.27% to 59,708.08. The Nifty 50 index lost 45.85 points or 0.26% to 17,616.30.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.96% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 1.10%. The market breadth was weak.

Among the sectoral indices on the NSE, the Nifty FMCG index (up 1.13%), the Nifty IT index (up 0.93%) and the Nifty Healthcare index (down 0.03%) outperformed the Nifty50 index. Meanwhile, the Nifty PSU Bank index (down 5.68%) the Nifty Metal index (down 4.50%) and the Nifty Media index (down 2.70%) underperformed the Nifty50 index.

ICICI Bank (up 2.18%), JSW Steel (up 2.09%) and Tata Steel (up 1.96%) were top Nifty gainers.

Cigarette major ITC slumped as much as 6.6% in intraday after the government stepped up NCCD (National Calamity Contingent Duty) duty on cigarettes by about 16%.

The stock later bounced 2.61% to settle at Rs 361.45 after the media reported that the impact of NCCD on the overall volumes of the company is expected to be limited.

Adani Enterprises crashed 28.45%. Shares of other listed Adani Group companies slumped by 2.5% to 19.7%. The media reported that Credit Suisse Group AG has stopped accepting bonds of Gautam Adani's group of companies as collateral for margin loans to its private banking clients. This came after US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research's adverse report on the conglomerate.

Shares of seven insurance companies fell by 0.52% to Rs 12.42% after the government gave a renewed thrust to the new tax regime in Budget 2023-24 today. Under the new income tax regime, individuals can opt to pay tax at the reduced rates without claiming the various tax exemptions and deductions.

Insurance stocks tumbled on concerns that the new tax regime may reduce demand for new insurance policies. Many taxpayers take insurance policies only to benefit from Section 80C deduction. They will not be inclined to do so under the new tax regime.

Union Budget 2023-24 Highlights:

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget 2023 today. This was the final full-fledged budget of the Narendra Modi government before the general election next year.

FM Sitharaman said fiscal deficit for 2023-24 is estimated at 5.9%. FY23 fiscal deficit is revised at 6.4% of GDP.

"I reiterate my intention to bring the fiscal deficit below 4.5% of GDP by 2025-26," FM Nirmala Sitharaman said.

FY24 gross borrowings is set at Rs 15.4 lakh crore. "Net market borrowings budgeted is at 11.8 lakh crore in FY24," says Finance Minister.

Sitharaman in her Budget speech today said that India's FY23 GDP growth is estimated at 7%.

The government is increasing capital investment outlay by 33% to Rs 10 lakh crore, which would be 3.3% of GDP. This is highest ever capital outlay by India.

The government announced capital outlay of Rs 2.40 lakh crore for railways, an increase of 9x over FY14.

The outlay for PM Awaas Yojana is being enhanced by 66% to over Rs 79,000 crore.

50 additional airports, heliports, water aerodromes, advanced landing zones will be revitalised. Cities will be incentivised to improve creditworthiness for municipal bonds. About 100 critical transport infra projects for steel, ports, fertiliser, coal, foodgrain sectors have been identified with an investment of Rs 75,000 crore including Rs 15,000 crore from private sources.

The government will extend 50-year interest free loan to State governments for one more year, FM Sitharaman said.

The government has announced Rs 35,000 crore priority capital for the energy transition. Battery storage will get viability gap funding.

The government has allocated Rs 19,700 crore to the National Hydrogen Mission. The objective is to reach hydrogen production capacity of 5 metric million tonnes by 2030.

The government will launch Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0.

A one-stop solution for reconciliation & updating of identity and address of individuals maintained by various govt agencies, regulators and regulated entities will be established using DigiLocker service and Aadhaar as foundational identity.

For business establishments required to have Permanent Account Number, the PAN will be used as a common identifier for all Digital Systems of specified government agencies.

FM said 50 tourist destinations will be selected through challenge mode to be developed as a whole package for domestic and international tourism. States will be encouraged to set a 'Unity Mall' in State capital or the most popular tourist destination in the state for the promotion and sale of "One District, One product' and GI products and other handicraft.

The Finance Minister has announced new income slabs bringing down the overall tax outgo for middle income earner group in FY 2023-24.

Rebate limit on personal income tax increased from Rs 5 lakhs to Rs 7 lakhs. The rebate will be only for those in the new tax regime.

Number of slabs reduced to 5 and tax exemption limit raised to Rs 3 lakh in new tax regime. Tax rates reduced for each slab with the highest of 30% for Rs 15 lakhs and above.

Salaried persons with income of Rs 15.5 lakhs or more will benefit by Rs 52,500 due to standard deduction.

Leave encashment limit is increased to Rs.25 lakh for retirees, up from Rs.3 lakh.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 7.277 from its close of 7.343 recorded in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 81.90, compared with its close of 81.88 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 3 February 2023 settlement advanced 0.78% to Rs 57,690.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.18% to 101.92.

The United States 10-year bond yield declined 1.26% to 3.485.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2023 settlement rose 12 cents or 0.14% to $85.58 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones futures were down 133 points, indicating a negative opening in the US stock market today.

Shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Wednesday with investors keeping a close eye on the U.S. Federal Reserve's next monetary policy decision later today.

China's factory activity in January signaled a further contraction from previous readings, albeit at a slower pace, marking the sixth monthly contraction in a row. The Caixin manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for January came in at 49.2 on Wednesday, a slightly higher reading than December's 49.

Japan's factory activity logs another contraction in January, marking a third straight month of contraction. The au Jibun Bank Flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index held steady at 48.9, below the 50-point mark separating growth from contraction.

US stocks edged higher on Tuesday on the back of strong earnings and encouraging inflation data.

The Fed is expected to hike rates by one-quarter of a percentage point. Investors will be looking for clues about how much higher the central bank will take rates in the fight against inflation.