Budget 2026, Stock market: Sensex, Nifty flat; Tata Steel shares down 3%

Union Budget 2026: Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty slipped in early trade during the historic Sunday session, as investors turned cautious ahead of presentation of the Union Budget 2026. All eyes are on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s ninth Budget speech, expected to begin her address at 11 am in Parliament.

At 9:16 am, the BSE Sensex slipped 86.55 points, or 0.11%, to 82,183.23 after falling nearly 130 points in early trade. The NSE Nifty was down 54.40 points, or 0.21%, to 25,266.25, after briefly touching a low of 25,252.30. 

Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, said the markets are closely tracking the government’s fiscal deficit target, pegged at around 4.3–4.4 per cent of GDP for FY27, even as pre-Budget caution continues to dominate sentiment. 

“Investors don’t have expectations of any major tax reliefs in this Budget since the 2025 Budget delivered huge income tax reliefs. Some tweaking of certain taxes is likely”, Vijayakumar said.

Among Sensex constituents, Tata Steel declined 2.56% to Rs 188.15. Infosys slipped 0.94%, while Adani Port, Eternal and Tech Mahindra fell 0.93%, 0.93% and 0.95%, respectively.

Persistent foreign investor outflows, a weak rupee near 92 per dollar, and mixed global signals have kept traders on edge. At the same time, steady domestic institutional buying and the market’s ability to hold key support levels are helping limit downside pressure, Ponmudi said.

Investors are going into the Union Budget with tempered tax expectations after last year's Budget provided significant income tax relief, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited.

Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research at Kotak Securities, said, "Buy Nifty above 25550. Keep a stop loss below 25450. Or sell Nifty below 25100 and keep a stop loss at 25200”

In BSE sectoral indices, Metal index slipped 4.48% to 37,106.33, while the Commodities declined 2.49% to 7,974.48.

“A favourable Budget reaction could trigger an upside breakout, while any disappointment or profit-booking may pull indices back towards lower support zones. Until there is clarity from the Budget, the overall bias remains cautious to neutral,” Ponmudi said.

Meanwhile, on Friday, the Sensex settled 296.59 points, or 0.36% lower, to end at 82,269.78, while the Nifty fell 98.25 points, or 0.39%, to settle at 25,320.65.

“Nifty 50 is showing signs of stabilization near its 200-day EMA around the 25,150–25,200 zone, with RSI staying neutral, basically hinting at a sideways market for now. The 25,100 zone is the key cushion; a slip below this could lead to a dip towards 25,000–24,900. On the upside, 25,450–25,500 is the immediate hurdle, and a clean breakout above this zone can open up room for 25,700–26,000 in the short term. Options data shows higher volatility with range-bound undertone,” Ponmudi said.