NEW DELHI: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty plummeted after Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced an increase in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on Futures and Options (F&O) securities while presenting the Union Budget 2024-25. She announced a 0.02 per cent and 0.1 per cent increase in STT on F&O securities.
The Sensex initially rose but quickly turned negative, plunging 1,266.17 points to 79,235.91 in the afternoon session. Similarly, the Nifty briefly climbed before falling 435.05 points to 24,074.20.
Additionally, the finance minister announced to raise the capital gains exemption limit on certain financial assets to Rs 1.25 lakh per year for the middle and upper middle class.
Meanwhile, Sitharaman highlighted India’s strong economic growth amidst global policy uncertainty, with inflation stabilizing around 4 per cent and core inflation at 3.1 per cent. Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, and Bajaj Finserv were the major losers, while Titan, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, and Adani Ports were the top gainers among the Sensex.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 3,444.06 crore on Monday, as per exchange data. In Asian markets, Seoul and Tokyo traded higher, while Shanghai and Hong Kong were lower. US markets closed positively on Monday, and Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.12 per cent to USD 82.40 a barrel. The Sensex and Nifty had already been on a downward trend, with the Sensex falling 102.57 points or 0.13 per cent to close at 80,502.08 on Monday, and the Nifty dipping 21.65 points or 0.09 per cent to 24,509.25.
