Sensex, Nifty end flat in volatile Budget session

Mumbai: Benchmark Sensex and Nifty settled marginally lower in volatile trade on Tuesday as the government proposed to hike securities transaction tax on futures & options in the budget for 2024-25.

Recovering most of its intra-day losses of over 1,200 points, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled lower by 73.04 points or 0.09 per cent 80,429.04. The NSE Nifty dipped 30.20 points or 0.12 per cent to 24,479.05. Intra-day, it dropped 435.05 points or 1.77 per cent to 24,074.20.

The index gyrated between highs and lows during the day as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced budget proposals for 2024-25. The barometer tanked 1,277.76 points or 1.58 per cent to hit a low of 79,224.32 as the minister announced a hike in STT on F&O trade and an increase in long-term capital gains tax on equities.

However, tax exemptions and customs duty cuts helped boost consumer durables and FMCG shares, aiding stocks to recover from the day’s lows. Among the Sensex pack, Titan jumped over 6 per cent, followed by ITC which surged more than 5 per cent. Adani Ports, NTPC, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, HCL Technologies and Sun Pharma were among the other big gainers. However, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank were amonh the major laggards.