SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar said the bank has the highest market share of the home loans market and it is appropriate to empower the large lower and middle class segment by transmitting the rate cut announced by the RBI.

The total income rose by 14.86 per cent to Rs 13,411.29 crore, EBITDA grew 0.7 per cent to Rs 1,690 crore in December quarter. The automaker sold 1,33,508 units vehicle as compared to 1,21,786 units in the year ago period.

The RBI has reduced repo rate (at which RBI lends to banks) by 0.25 per cent to 6.25 per cent, a move that will translate into softening interest rates.

Experts see another rate cut in the calendar year 2019 as the RBI governor Shaktikanta Das clearly stated to focus on the economic growth with the headline inflation projected to remain soft in the near-term.

The Interim Budget has set a target of Rs 90,000 crore to be mopped up from CPSE disinvestment in 2019-20, higher than Rs 80,000 crore in the current fiscal.

Sectorally, auto, banking, agriculture, and FMCG stocks rallied as budget measures are expected to provide a boost to sectors in domestic consumption like automobiles, consumer staples and durables, real estate, building materials, home improvement and retail-focussed banking and financials.

In morning session, the biggest gainers in the Sensex pack were IndusInd Bank, NTPC, SBI, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Vedanta, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, PowerGrid, ONGC and Infosys, rising up to 1.35 per cent.

The equity market witnessed selling ahead of the weekend, with Sensex slumped 689 points or 1.89 per cent to close at 35,742, while Nifty closed 197 points lower at 10,754. Of 30 Sensex stocks, 27 ended in the red.

The BSE SENSEX closed at 35,929.64, up by 150.57 points, or by 0.42 per cent, and the NSE Nifty ended at 10,791.55, up by 53.95 points, or by 0.50 per cent.

Recovery in rupee and positive cues from other Asian markets too influenced investor sentiment. Rising for the third straight session, the 30-share index was trading higher by 263.70 points, or 0.74 per cent, at 36,042.77.

The expectations of higher spending on farmers and agriculture-related activities by the newly formed state governments in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to fulfil their electoral promises and hopes from the Narendra Modi govt to address farmers' concerns ahead of the Lok Sabha elections led to a rally in two-wheeler and rural theme-based stocks.

The BSE SENSEX closed 572.28 points, or 1.59 per cent, lower at 35312.13 and the NSE Nifty ended at 10592.6, down by 190.3 points or by 1.76 per cent. In the Sensex, 29 out of 30 stocks and in the Nifty, 46 out of 50 stocks ended in the negative terrain.

In the bearish trading session, Sensex touched intraday high and low of 35707.23 and 35266.76, respectively. The NSE Nifty touched intraday high of 10722.65 and intraday low of 10588.25.

The Sensex closed at 36170.41, up by 453.46 points or by 1.27 per cent, and the NSE Nifty ended at 10858.7, up by 129.85 points or by 1.21 per cent. During the day's trade, the Sensex touched intraday high of 36,253.85 and low of 35,946.24 and the NSE Nifty touched intraday high of 10883.05 and intraday low of 10782.35.

ICICI Bank was the top Sensex gainer post Q2 earnings after brokerages raised the stock's target price. Other Sensex gainers were SBI (7.90%), Adani Ports (6.62%) and L&T (5.15%).