Budget 2026 impact on stock market: Which are the top stocks in focus? Check list

By Thomas V Abraham, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset ShareKhan

India’s stock markets kicked off the special Sunday session on a flat-to-positive note, with Sensex touching an intraday peak near 82,726 and Nifty nearing 25,357. However, sentiment soured quickly after Budget 2026 announcements, dragging indices into the red amid targeted tax hikes and unmet expectations.

Key triggers for the downturn:

Derivatives tax hike: Budget 2026 doubled STT on F&O futures to 0.05% (from 0.02%) and hiked options premium tax to 0.15% (from 0.1%), jacking up costs for everyday traders. The move aims to cool off excessive options speculation, but could hit F&O volumes significantly. Listed stocks that have a negative impact as a result include BSE, Groww, Nuvama Wealth, Angel one.




Higher government borrowing : Higher government borrowing may impact liquidity in the system and raise yields, this may impact treasury income of banks and higher rates could lead to increased market borrowing cost and could be sentimentally weak in the near term. However, overall fundamentals of the sector remain positive with a strong balance sheet, benign asset quality and improving growth outlook. SBI, Bank of Baroda, PNB to be impacted sentimentally in the near term as a result.

Action Construction equipment (ACE), Escorts Kubota : The 2026 Budget launches a specific program to strengthen local production of construction machinery, offering a clear advantage to ACE/ Escorts through its cranes, forklifts, and earthmovers.

Anant Raj, Technoelectric : Budget 2026 offers through Anant Raj, a tax holiday until 2047 for foreign cloud providers using Indian data centers, spurring massive demand for its Delhi-NCR facilities. This positions India as a global digital hub, directly boosting Anant Raj's operational 28MW capacity and expansion plans.

Positive for Amber Enterprises and Dixon Technologies : The Rs 40,000 crore allocation bolsters local chip fabrication, PCB Assembly.

Biocon and Sun Pharma: Proposed Rs.10,000 crore "Biopharma Shakti" program to boost local production of biologics and biosimilars/ Innovative drugs, positioning Biocon and Sun pharma favorably as a frontrunner in this space. These funds will enhance R&D facilities and elevate quality benchmarks, empowering Biocon to expand cost-effective treatments for diabetes, oncology, and immunology conditions amid growing non-communicable disease challenges.

NMDC and GMDC: Announcement benefits NMDC Steel through dedicated Rare Earth Corridors in states like Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, plus import duty exemptions on capital goods for critical mineral processing. Corridors boost NMDC's mining/processing of rare earths for EVs, renewables, and defence, leveraging its iron ore expertise.Also positive for GMDC.

Of these, we have BUY ratings on Amber, Dixon, BSE, Biocon, Sun pharma, SBI, BOB, PNB, NMDC

(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)