Markets slide on Budget jitters; Sensex fall 1,547, Nifty Below 24,850

The Indian equity benchmark indices ended sharply lower in a volatile Budget-day session on February 1, as Dalal Street reacted negatively to key announcements in the Union Budget, particularly a hike in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on equity derivatives trading.Markets opened on a subdued note and traded in a narrow range through the first half of the session. Sentiment turned decisively weaker after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during her Budget speech, announced an increase in STT on equity futures and options trades. The move triggered heavy selling in the derivatives-heavy segments, dragging the Nifty to an intraday low of 24,571.75.Although benchmarks staged a brief recovery during mid-session trade, the rebound proved short-lived as selling pressure resurfaced in the final hour, pushing indices to close near the day’s lows.At the close, the Sensex fell 1,546.84 points, or 1.88%, to end at 80,722.94, while the Nifty declined 495.20 points, or 1.96%, to settle at 24,825.45.
According to information,broader markets underperformed the frontline indices, reflecting heightened risk aversion. The Nifty Midcap 100 index dropped 2.2%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index slid 2.8%, indicating widespread selling across segments.On the Nifty 50, stocks such as ONGC, SBI, Hindalco Industries, Adani Ports and Bharat Electronics emerged as the top laggards. On the other hand, IT majors Wipro, TCS and Infosys, along with Sun Pharma and Max Healthcare, managed to close in positive territory.
On the sectoral front, barring information technology, all indices ended in the red. The metal index was the worst performer, shedding 3.8%, followed by PSU banks, which declined 4%. Oil and gas stocks slipped 2.7%, while capital goods fell 3%, reflecting concerns over near-term earnings and policy impact.
Expert View:
Market participants said the Budget failed to provide immediate triggers for equities, with the STT hike on F&O trades adding to concerns over trading costs and market liquidity, leading to a broad-based sell-off on an otherwise closely watched trading session.V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments stated,the Budget is slightly disappointing from the stock market perspective since many market participants were expecting some relief on capital gains tax, which didn’t happen. But from the medium to long-term perspective, this is a good Budget which lays out a clear strategy for growth with fiscal prudence. Nominal GDP can rise by 10% in FY 27 enabling corporate earnings to rise by around 15%, which is good from the market perspective.

(Business Correspondent)