India budget 2026: winners and losers as manufacturing gets boost, brokers hit

Infrastructure Investment - India announced measures to invest nearly $133 billion to enhance infrastructure and boost manufacturing across various sectors including textiles and electronic components [1] - A proposal for a ship-repair ecosystem and incentives for seaplanes was introduced, leading to gains in shipping stocks such as Shipping Corp. of India, which rose by as much as 4.3% [12] Benefiting Sectors - Pharmaceuticals sector is set to benefit from an outlay of $1.1 billion over the next five years aimed at boosting production and research for biologics and biosimilar drugs, with shares of major players like Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Biocon Ltd. increasing by 3.8% and 2.9% respectively [4][5] - The textiles sector is expected to gain from policy measures including the establishment of 'mega textile parks', with companies like Raymond Ltd. and Trident Ltd. surging over 8% [6] - Electronic manufacturing received a $4.3 billion allocation, which is anticipated to propel the industry as firms like Apple Inc. increase their manufacturing presence in India [7][8] - Data centers will benefit from a proposed tax holiday for foreign companies providing cloud services from India-based data centers through 2047, with shares of Anant Raj Ltd. rising by 14.2% [9][10] - Cargo and transport sector reforms proposed in the budget are expected to benefit firms like Container Corp. of India Ltd. [13] Losing Sectors - Brokers faced a setback due to an increase in the securities transaction tax on equity futures from 0.02% to 0.05%, leading to declines in shares of the BSE and stock brokers like Angle One Ltd. [14] - State-owned banks experienced a drop in shares, with the NSE Nifty PSU Bank Index falling by as much as 7%, as investors anticipated announcements regarding consolidation and foreign shareholding cap relaxation [15] - The clean energy sector expressed disappointment as expected tax regime rationalizations did not materialize, affecting major conglomerates like Adani, Tata, and Reliance that have invested in this area [16]