Budget 2016: Nifty struggles below 7050, Sensex flat; bank stocks gain

Moneycontrol Bureau
The market is flat as Budget speech draws closer. The Sensex is up 7.95 points at 23162.25 and the Nifty is down 1.05 points at 7028.70. About 700 shares have advanced, 555 shares declined, and 65 shares are unchanged.

SBI, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, Dr Reddy's Labs and ONGC are top gainers while ITC, Adani Ports, GAIL, Bharti Airtel and Cipla are losers in the Sensex.

As Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presents Union Budget today, the market will focus on credibility of numbers. Investors will be keen to know if the govt deviates from the fiscal consolidation roadmap in order to boost growth. The other big fear the market has is the possible extension of the long term capital gains tax tenure from 1 to 3 years or the possibility of reintroduction of a tax itself.