The stock markets are volatile as FM Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget on July 23. File
| Photo Credit: ANI

Stock market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty tanked after Finance Minister (FM) 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 FM Sitharaman began presenting the Budget for 2024-25. But, within minutes it slipped in the red and later plummeted 1,266.17 points to 79,235.91 during the afternoon trade.

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The NSE Nifty also ticked higher as the FM began the presentation of her seventh Union Budget in the Lok Sabha. 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 went up 73.3 points to 24,582.55.

Mrs. Sitharaman on Tuesday said the government plans to raise the capital gains exemption limit on certain financial assets to ₹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% and 0.1%.

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%, and core inflation stands at 3.1%.

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.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹3,444.06 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Tokyo traded higher while Shanghai and Hong Kong quoted lower.

The US markets ended in positive territory on Monday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.12% to $82.40 a barrel.

Falling for the second day in a row, the BSE benchmark fell 102.57 points or 0.13% to settle at 80,502.08 on Monday.

The NSE Nifty dipped 21.65 points or 0.09% to 24,509.25.