Stocks To Watch, February 2: Biocon, Bharat Dynamics, HAL, Waaree Energies, Ather Energy, Anant Raj, IT stocks, Infra, railways

The stock market took a heavy beating on Sunday, February 1, in a special Budget trading session, after the finance minister announced a hike in securities transaction tax (STT) in the F&O segment.

The increase in the defence outlay, including the budget for capital acquisition, against the backdrop of the "historic success of Operation Sindoor", has further strengthened our resolve to make India's defence system even more robust, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said.

The long-term incentives to foreign cloud and tech giants are expected to turbocharge investments in cutting-edge data facilities and digital infrastructure.

IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said he expects $200 billion investment to flow into data centres – and it is also seen as sharpening India's edge in the global AI race, at a time when New Delhi is keen to take centre stage in global discourse on artificial intelligence.

"By placing biopharma among the seven strategic frontier sectors and launching Biopharma Shakti with an outlay of ₹10,000 crore over five years, the Union Budget makes a decisive investment in India's health and innovation future," Biocon Group Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said in a statement.

Presenting the Union Budget for 2026-27, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the establishment of high-tech tool rooms at two locations to boost capital goods manufacturing.

Sharing his views on the budget announcements by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Minister of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Joshi, said the Union Budget takes a decisive step towards advancing India's renewable energy and storage ecosystem.

He said that by extending the Basic Customs Duty (BCD) exemption on capital goods used in the manufacturing of lithium-ion cells for batteries and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), the budget aims to accelerate grid-scale energy storage and enable seamless integration of renewable energy.

Presenting the Union Budget for 2026-27 in the Lok Sabha, she said the government will continue to develop infrastructure in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.

The government also proposes to set up a risk guarantee fund for the infrastructure sector, she added.

The Budget allocation includes the construction of new lines and the purchase of locomotives, wagons, and coaches, among other works.

The ministry had received ₹2,52,000 crore in FY 2025-26.

In her Union Budget 2026-27 speech, Sitharaman proposed the restructuring of REC Ltd (formerly Rural Electrification Corporation) and Power Finance Corporation (PFC) as part of the government's public sector financial institution strengthening.

PFC and REC play a key role in funding power generation, transmission, and distribution projects.

The government on Sunday announced the setting up of Mega Textile Parks in challenge mode with a focus on integrated infrastructure and value addition, among a raft of reforms, including a five-pronged integrated policy framework, to provide a shot in the arm to India's employment-intensive textile sector.

The rationalisation of Tax Collected at Source (TCS) on overseas tour packages and the focus on tier II and III cities, including temple towns, through the City Economic Regions (CER) development budgetary allocation of ₹5,000 crore will act as a big boost for the tourism sector, top industry players said.

Rationalisation of Tax Collected at Source (TCS) on overseas tour packages is a welcome step that addresses upfront liquidity impact on Indian outbound travellers, said Rajesh Magow, Chair, FICCI Tourism Committee and Co-founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip.

This year's Budget has taken steps to make international travel, both outbound and inbound, more accessible and affordable for Indian travellers. The proposal to reduce the TCS rate on overseas tour packages to a flat 2 per cent (from the earlier 5% and 20% slab-based system) is a welcome move for making outbound tourism more amenable, according to Ixigo.