Derivatives, capital gains tax rate hike bring markets down

THE Budget, which otherwise ticked all the boxes despite its heavy political tone and doles, has left stock market investors in disarray as the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has tweaked the tax rates for market assets-a fivefold increase in the securities transaction tax to 0.1% and a 2.5 percentage points hike in the long term capital gains tax to 12.5%.

- BENN KOCHUVEEDAN

A spooked market reacted kneejerk and the indices tanked nearly 1.5% intra-day but towards the second half recouped almost all losses, yet closing in the red after returning to the green many times. The Sensex finally closed the trade with 73 points down and Nifty losing 30 points.