New Delhi: The Indian stock market has been sent plunging after the announcement of a proposed increase in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her Union Budget 2024 speech.
The benchmark BSE Sensex fell by over 900 points to a low of 79,515.64 and the NSE Nifty fell below Rs 24,300, according to national media outlets.
Notably, the securities transaction tax rate has been revised and increased to 0.02% in the new Union Budget 2024. Securities transaction tax is a direct tax that is levied on the sale of securities on the stock exchanges like equity shares, derivatives (Futures and options), and units of equity mutual funds.
On Monday, the BSE benchmark fell 102.57 points or 0.13 per cent to settle at 80,502.08. The NSE Nifty dipped 21.65 points or 0.09 per cent to 24,509.25.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee has dropped to a record low against the US dollar following a drop in local equities. The rupee declined to 83.69 to the dollar, falling below the previous lifetime low of 83.6775, and compared with 83.6275 before the budget announcement.
This is the first Budget during Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's third term in office. Notably, this is Sitharaman’s seventh time presenting the budget as the Finance Minister of India.
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