The share price of companies linked to consumption theme India are likely to benefit from Friday’s Budget announcement. Piyush Goyal, the interim Finance minister, gave a bonanza for middle-class by exempting tax on those who earn up to ₹5 lakh annually. Also, doles of up to ₹1.35 lakh crore have been announced for rural India.

Markets are expecting that retail brands, fast-moving consumer goods, auto and real-estate stocks to perform well. Defence stocks too gained after Goyal announced that the Defence Budget for FY20 has been increased to over ₹3 lakh crore.

Maruti, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp and Tata Motors were among the top gainers in auto index. Many realty stocks gained up to 4 per cent after Goyal gave impetus to the sector.

“Markets have now made four attempts at breaking through 10,968, and failed. On the other hand, markets have sold off three different times, and bounced back resiliently. Clearly, the frontline, large leadership stocks are showing strength and resilience, while the broader market has been beaten down quite badly. The upshot, leadership, quality growth with earnings delivery and strong balance sheets are continuing to perform well,” Sanctum Wealth Management said.