L&T, Ashoka Buildcon, NCC and other infrastructure stocks surge up to 6% ahead of Budget 2026

Stocks of leading infrastructure companies were trading higher in a special session on Sunday, February 1, indicating market optimism ahead of the announcement for the Union Budget 2026 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

At 10:35 am, shares of Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T) were trading 1.1% higher at ₹3,977.4 apiece on the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), while NCC Ltd stocks jumped 2% to Rs ₹150.1.

KEC International Ltd shares were up 0.2% at ₹646.1 apiece, while IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd gained 2.8% to ₹41.82.

PNC Infratech Ltd shares surged nearly 7% to ₹225.15 apiece by 10:30 am, while Ashoka Buildcon Ltd rallied 5.3% to ₹152.32. KNR Constructions Ltd was trading 4% higher at ₹149.18 apiece.

State-owned NBCC (India) Ltd, however, was down 0.7% to ₹98.57 apiece, along with Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd that fell 0.15%, too.

Expectations are rife that Sitharaman may boost allocations towards infrastructure spending to spur economic growth and generate jobs. Measures to boost the manufacturing and logistics sectors are also expected amid times of global uncertainties and geopolitical tensions.

In Budget 2025, the Finance Minister allocated a record of ₹11.21 lakh crore for the infrastructure sector compared with the previous year’s ₹11.11 lakh crore.

The Economic Survey released earlier this week highlighted that the government’s capital expenditure has increased nearly 4.2 times, from ₹2.63 lakh crore in FY18 to ₹11.21 lakh crore in FY26 (BE), while effective capital expenditure in FY26 (BE) is ₹15.48 lakh crore, positioning infrastructure as a key growth driver.

The Survey added that the national highway (NH) infrastructure has also expanded substantially during recent years. The NH network grew about 60% from 91,287 km (FY14) to 1,46,572 km (FY26, up to December), while operational high-speed corridors increased nearly 10-fold—from 550 km (FY14) to 5,364 km (FY26, up to December).

Railway infrastructure has also expanded, with the rail network reaching 69,439 route km as of March 2025, and 99.1% electrification being achieved by October 2025.

In the aviation sector, India has emerged as the world’s third-largest domestic market, with the number of airports increasing from 74 in 2014 to 164 in 2025.