Mumbai: The Indian stock market on Tuesday witnessed a sharp downturn following the announcement by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of an increase in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on Futures and Options (F&O) securities during her presentation of the Budget for 2024-25
The BSE Sensex, initially buoyed by the budget proceedings, took a dramatic turn, plunging 1,266.17 points to 79,235.91 by afternoon trade. Similarly, the NSE Nifty, which has shown early gains, fell sharply by 435.05 points to 24, 074.20. In early trading, the Sensex had briefly risen by 264.33 points to 80,766.41, while the Nifty also saw an increase of 73.3 points to 24,582.55.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled several fiscal measures, including raising the capital gains exemption limit on specified financial assets to Rs 1.25 lakh per year for the middle and upper middle class. She also announced an incremental rise in STT and F&O securities by 0.02 per cent to 0.1 per cent.
Amidst these developments, Larsen & Toubro, Bijaj Finance, and Reliance Industries were among the notable losers on the Sensex, while Titan and Hindustan Unilever recorded gains.
'Market sentiment was also influenced by positive cues from Asian markets like Seoul and Tokyo, although Shanghai and Hong Kong experienced declines. Meanwhile, US markets closed higher on Monday. Global oil prices remained volatile, with Brent crude climbing 1.12 per cent to USD 82.40 per barrel. The BSE benchmark ended Monday's session with a decline of 102.57 points, settling at 80, 502.08, while the Nifty dipped by 21.65 points to 24,509.25.
Foreign Institutional Investors continued their interest in Indian equities, purchasing shares worth Rs 3,444.06 crore on Monday. This budget marks the first under Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's third term in office.
