Markets gave a thumbs up to the Budget 2017 proposals by finance minister Arun Jaitley, with the S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 indices settling nearly 1.8% higher each at 28,142 and 8,716 levels respectively. This is the first time since October 25 that the Nifty50 index has closed above 8,700 levels.

Broader markets, too, rallied in tandem. The BSE Mid-cap and BSE Small-cap indices closed 1.7% higher each. "The government had a tough call of treading very carefully between the need for stimulating demand in a weak economic environment after demonetization and continuing ...