Indian markets fell sharply on Saturday after the Union Budget was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The BSE Sensex closed at 39,3735 – 987 points lower than the last trading session – while the NSE Nifty50 index ended 373.95 points lower at 11,661.85.
The stock markets operate from Monday to Friday, but remained open on a Saturday this time because of the Budget presentation.
The top losers on the Sensex were ITC Limited, Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC, and State Bank of India. On the Nifty, Omax Autos Limited, Max Financial Services Limited, Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited, DLF Limited, and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited were the biggest losers.
Shares of HDFC Life Insurance, SBI Life Insurance and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance were down 9% to 10% intra-day as the finance minister did not announce any tax exemption for specific policies, Moneycontrol reported. The ITC share price hit a 52-week low after Sitharaman announced a hike in excise duty on cigarettes and tobacco products.
Yes Securities Senior President and Research Head (Institutional Equities) Amar Ambani said that not overhauling personal income tax completely, removal of 70 exemptions and the revocation of the dividend distribution tax, has led to the fall in Nifty. Dividend distribution tax is the tax imposed by the Centre on Indian companies according to the dividend paid to a company’s investors.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Consultancy Services, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle, Tech Mahindra, and Infosys. On the Nifty, the stocks of Tata Consultancy Services, Hindustan Unilever, Tech Mahindra, Nestle, and Infosys made gains.
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