Market closes flat on budget day,FM cuts fiscal deficit target,hikes LTCG

The Indian share market  indices turned highly volatile amid the Union Budget presentation and ended marginally lower on Tuesday, after FM hikes STT (Securities Transaction Tax )on F&O securities by 0.02 per cent and 0.1 per cent in order to discourage retail investors from trading in the risky  market segment. At close, the Sensex was down 73.04 points or 0.09 percent at 80,429.04, and the Nifty was down 30.20 points or 0.12 percent at 24,479.05. About 1488 shares advanced, 1949 shares declined, and 74 shares unchanged.
Titan Company, Tata Consumer, ITC, NTPC and Adani Ports were the top gainers on the Nifty, while losers included L&T, ONGC, Hindalco, Shriram Finance and Bajaj Finance.
On the sectoral front, FMCG, healthcare, media and IT indices were up 0.5-2.5 percent. However, bank, capital goods, metal, oil & gas and reality were down 1-2 percent.The BSE midcap index shed 0.7 percent, while the smallcap index ended on flat note.
Rupee Close:
On 23 July'24,the Indian rupee declined to a record low of 83.69 against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, pressured by the drop in local equities after the government proposed raising the tax rate on capital gains.
Trading Guide:
Market experts have recommended buying these five shares ahead of budget 2024 — SBI Card, RITES, Oberoi Realty, KPIT Tech, and HBL Power.

(Writer is a Finance Research Analyst, based in Gandhinagar, Gujarat)