The stock market closed on a higher note as Union Minister Piyush Goyal announced higher rural spending as well as tax exemptions in his Budget speech. The 30-share Sensex surged to 500 points to hit an intraday high of 36,778.14.
Sensex ended 212.74 points, or 0.59 per cent, higher at 36,469.43, while Nifty closed 62.70 points up at 10,893.65. Thirty four of the 50 Nifty stocks finished in the green.
ALSO READ: Budget 2019: Ten big takeaways from Vote Booster budget
Overall, the market mood was positive throughout the day. Piyush Goyal said the fiscal deficit for the current financial year is expected to be 3.4 per cent of Gross Domestic Product higher than the budget estimate of 3.3 per cent.
This was the last Interim Budget of the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the Lok Sabha elections due by May.