Union Budget 2015-16: Market awaits FM Arun Jaitley's prescription for the economy

The broader market, represented by the BSE Sensex, did not show much movement in the week, opening at 29,112.41 and closing at 29,231, up 119 points.

The benchmark fell 0.78% on Friday. Of the total number of companies eligible for trading, 109 remained unchanged, 1,500 stocks rose while 1,423 stocks saw a fall.

FIIs invested Rs 4334.55 crore in the stock market during the week, while the total FII investment in equity and debt, according to the NSDL website, was Rs 7,005 crore during the same period.

Equity benchmarks upheld consolidation bias for the fourth successive session and lost more than half a percent amid excessive intra-day volatility. In line with decline in index, a majority of sectoral indices closed in red.

Jayant Manglik, president, retail distribution, Religare Securities says, "Traders are advised to maintain stock-specific trading approach and keep leveraged positions hedged. We reiterate our preference for defensive pack i.e. IT, FMCG and Pharma alongside selective stocks from the infra space for long trades. In case of decline, PSU bank, energy and metal stocks may attract fresh selling pressure so plan your positions accordingly".

He added since Nifty has been trading roughly in a narrow range of 8,800-8,900 for the last four trading sessions, a decisive break on either side is likely to trigger the next directional move.

Meanwhile, Vinod Nair, head, fundamental research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services thinks that the market has shown its concern as we have moved fast, moving back from the high of 29,518 points on Thursday.

Regarding the budget, Nair adds: "We maintain our view that Government is expected to increase infrastructure spending, better platform and incentives for manufacturing."

Such steps are likely to develop positive momentum towards infrastructure, PSU banks and manufacturing sectors. However, we will have to wait to know if all these expectations will be answered in the budget or if they unwrap as a part of continuous reforms.

Among the companies that qualify in group A, major gains were made by Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering (27.04%); Suzlon Energy (34.87%); Jindal Steel & Power (27.4%); and Fortis Healthcare (+6.03%). Meanwhile, among the top losers were Rasoya Proteins (12.9%); CESC (12.21%); Oil India (2.47%) and Jammu & Kashmir Bank (5.15%).

The European markets saw little change as the European finance ministers prepared to meet in Brussels to seek an agreement on Greece's bailout funding. The US index futures were trading lower.