Indian benchmark indices snapped eight-consecutive days of gains. At the close, the NSE Nifty closed 0.46 percent or 58 points at 12690.8, while the BSE Sensex settled at 43357.19, down 0.54 percent. Major gainers include Grasim Industries, Hindustan Unilever, Shree Cements, Hindalco and ITC. On the downside, SBI, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra, Coal India and NTPC were laggards.

Announcing a new set of Stimulus 2.0, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said India is seeing a “strong recovery” taking root in the economy, as seen by increased GST collections and other metrics. The FM announced 12 measures in Stimulus 2.0 from credit guarantee to EPFO subsidy to tax relief for homebuyers.

On the fertilizer subsidy of 65000 crore announced by the Finance Minister, fertilizer stocks got a push in their stock price. The realty index also got a boost as the government extended incentive to the middle class for buying homes.

Nifty Realty surged almost 0.8 percent, with major gains on the IndiaBulls Realty, Oberoi Realty, Prestige Estate and Godrej Properties.

FMs Grand stimulus package: Rs 65,000-cr fertiliser subsidy for farmers

Nirmala Sitharaman Launches ECLGS 2.0

Gold Rise marginally led by weakness in Rupee