Sensex, Nifty tumble after Budget presentation; investors lose over Rs 6.5 lakh crore

Indian equity benchmarks witnessed a sharp decline during Sunday's special trading session after the presentation of the Union Budget 2026–27 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, as broad-based selling gripped the market.

At last check, the BSE Sensex pack was down 1,052 points or 1.28 per cent at 81,218, while the NSE Nifty index slipped 348 points or 1.37 per cent to 24,973. The sharp fall in domestic indices led to an erosion of more than Rs 6.5 lakh crore in BSE market capitalisation (m-cap).

"The steep increase in STT (Securities Transaction Tax) on futures and options, coming on top of last year's hike, is likely to raise impact costs for traders, hedgers and arbitrageurs. This could cool derivative activity and lead to a reduction in volumes. The intent appears to be volume moderation rather than revenue maximisation, as any potential revenue gain could be offset by lower derivative volumes," said Shripal Shah, MD & CEO, Kotak Securities.

"The sharp increase in STT — with futures STT raised from 0.02 per cent to 0.05 per cent and options premium and exercise STT increased to 0.15 per cent — materially raises trading costs for derivative participants. This is a meaningful jump, not a marginal tweak, and it is likely to have a direct dampening effect on F&O volumes, particularly among high-frequency traders, proprietary desks, and cost-sensitive strategies," said Aakash Shah, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Equity Broking.

Market fall in numbers

Investor wealth, as indicated by BSE m-cap, declined by Rs 6.58 lakh crore to Rs 453.43 lakh crore from Rs 460.02 lakh crore in the previous session. Heavyweights such as State Bank of India (SBI), Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, ITC, Axis Bank, Bharat Electronics Ltd, HCL Technologies, ICICI Bank and Bajaj Finance were among the key contributors to the market decline.

200 stocks hit 52-week lows

As many as 200 stocks hit their 52-week lows today. BSE500 stocks such as ACC, Akzo Nobel India Ltd, Blue Jet Healthcare Ltd, Clean Science and Technology Ltd, Concord Biotech Ltd and Exide Industries Ltd hit their respective one-year low levels. That said, 65 stocks touched their one-year high levels today.

2,167 stocks in the red

Out of 4,150 stocks, 2,167 stocks were seen declining. Only 1,391 stocks were advancing, while 193 stocks remained unchanged.