Indian indices tumble as Budget fails to ignite market

MUMBAI: The first budget of the third Modi Government, presented on Tuesday, failed to uplift the stock market.

The BSE Sensex closed with a loss of 1,000 points, or 0.9 per cent, at 80,461.83. The NSE Nifty 50 shed 30.20 points, or 0.12 per cent, settling at 24,479.05.

Both indices initially opened strong, anticipating a favorable budget, but lost momentum as the Budget speech progressed.

The Sensex began trading at 80,724.32 and rose to 80,766.41. However, it later fell to a low of 79,244.32 points as the Finance Minister’s speech failed to inject the anticipated boost into the market, which had been volatile for a week leading up to the Budget.

Similarly, the Nifty, which opened in the green at 24,568.90 points, fluctuated between 24,074.20 and 24,522.55 during the day.

18 stocks end in red

Of the 30 Sensex stocks, 18 ended in the red. Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, SBI, Axis Bank, and Power Grid were among the biggest losers. In contrast, Titan, ITC, Adani Ports, and Infosys bucked the trend.

On the Nifty, 29 of the 50 stocks closed lower. Larsen & Toubro, Shriram Finance, Hindalco, Bajaj Finance, and SBI Life were the top decliners, while Titan, Tata Consumer Products, Adani Ports, and NTPC were the top gainers.

Analysts attributed the market decline primarily to the budgetary proposal to increase the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on Futures and Options (F&O). There was also confusion surrounding the budget proposals regarding taxes on short-term and long-term gains in the stock market.