Rallying for the third consecutive day since the Budget announcement, the Sensex on Wednesday closed at its new lifetime high of 50,255. The index gained nearly 8 per cent from the close of last Friday.

The Nifty index, too, hit a new lifetime high to close at 14,790. No new tax on the stock markets, a roadmap for stake-sale in government companies, massive increase in expenditure on stalled infrastructure projects, and easing of norms for foreign investments have been keeping the markets buoyant.

“The Budget is fuelling a rally in all economy-driven sectors along with banking. The uptick in global markets, resumption of FPI (foreign portfolio investment) flows and strong corporate earnings trend in the third quarter are the other factors driving the markets. We can expect some resistance to set in for Nifty-50 at 15,000 level,” said Jaideep Hansraj, MD & CEO, Kotak Securities.

According to analysts, the big threat to the rally is from the government’s huge borrowing programme announced in the Budget. With the bond market not too happy with the extent of spending, there was a sharp sell off. India will borrow a gross ₹12-lakh crore via bonds during the fiscal year beginning April, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday. Bonds sold off on the announcement, with the benchmark 10-year yield rising 16 basis points to 6.06 per cent. The 5.15 per cent 2025 bond yield rose by 27 basis points.

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