Indian equities pared the losses after crashing over 1,000 points as the government announced hikes in capital gains and securities transaction taxes while presenting the Union Budget 2024.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced today the Long Term Capital Gains taxes will be hiked from 10 to 12.5% and Short Term Capital Gains taxes on some assets from 15 to 20%. The securities transaction tax (STT) on futures and options will be increased to 0.02% and 0.1% respectively, she said.
After the announcement, the 30-share Sensex pack fell over 1,000 points and briefly went below the 80,000-mark. The markets, however, have pared the losses and Sensex and Nifty are trading flat now.
Titan, ITC, and Adani Ports are among the leading gainers among the BSE pack while the major losers include Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, and Larsen and Toubro.