Sensex and Nifty tanked after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a hike in STT (Securities Transaction Tax) on F&O (Futures and Options) securities.
The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped as soon as Nirmala Sitharaman began presenting the Budget for 2024-25. But, within minutes, it slipped into the red and later dropped 1,266.17 points to 79,235.91 during the afternoon trade.
The NSE Nifty also ticked higher as the Finance Minister began the presentation. However, volatile trends soon came in and the benchmark later tanked 435.05 points to 24,074.20.
The BSE benchmark had climbed 264.33 points to 80,766.41 in early trade. The Nifty had gone up 73.3 points to 24,582.55.
Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the government plans 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.
Presenting the Budget for 2024-25, she announced a hike in STT (Securities Transaction Tax) on F&O (futures and options) securities by 0.02 per cent and 0.1 per cent.
This is the first Budget during Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s third term in office.
India’s economic growth continues to shine while the global economy is still in the grip of policy uncertainty, Sitharaman said.
The country’s inflation continues to be stable and is moving towards 4 per cent, and core inflation stands at 3.1 per cent.
Among the Sensex pack, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, Reliance Industries, State Bank of India and Bajaj Finserv were the major laggards.
Titan, ITC, Hindustan Unilever and Adani Ports were among the biggest gainers.