The trends on Gift Nifty also indicate a gap-down start for the Indian benchmark index. The Gift Nifty was trading around 23,365 level, a discount of nearly 190 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close.

Budget day trading is marked by sharp volatility, with Nifty 50 historically swinging 2.4 percent intraday on average.

Although the markets have posted gains, continued selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remains a concern.