Mumbai, January 31: Ahead of the Budget 2019, stock markets registered a sharp rise on Thursday. The Sensex surged nearly 600 points, while the Nifty rose by 161.75 points in the afternoon trade. The Sensex touched 36,192.46 points, and Nifty50 barometer of the National Stock Exchange (NSE)  hit 10,813.55 points. The rise in the markets was primarily because of the trading of buying in energy and IT stocks. Shares of Infosys Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank also surged. Budget 2019: Govt Likely to Announce Interest-Free Loans, Premium-Free Insurance for Farmers.

According to reports, ICICI Bank shares gained up to 2.9 per cent on the NSE, while shares of NTPC rose up to 1.8 per cent. Shares of Reliance Industries also rose up to 2.3 per cent on the NSE. Stocks of Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank and State Bank of India traded higher by 1-3 percent. Budget 2019 Will be Interim Budget, Clarifies Finance Ministry.

The Narendra Modi government will present Union Budget 2019 in the Parliament tomorrow. It will be an interim budget as Lok Sabha elections are scheduled this year in April-May. Union Minister Piyush Goyal will present the budget as ailing Finance minister Arun Jaitley is in the United States for treatment. In the budget, the government is likely to announce a relief package for farmers including interest-free farm loans and premium-free crop insurance.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 31, 2019 04:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).