Market records steepest weekly declines in over two years
At close, Sensex ended near the 78,000 mark, shedding 1.5% from the previous session, while the Nifty fell below 23,600, also down 1.5%.
The 30-Scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) closed over 800 points down to end the day’s trading at 35,066.75. At closing bell on Friday, 2 February, the Sensex was down 839.91 point or 2.34 per cent.
The National Stock Exchange’s (NSE) Nifty50 closed at 10,760.60, down by 256.30 points or 2.33 per cent.
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Only shares of TCS ended in the green at 3149.15, up by just 0.33 per cent, at the Sensex. Bajaj Auto lost the maximum today ending the day’s trade at 3242.60, down by 4.90.
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Starting at a low note, the markets continued to fall through Friday, a day after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget 2018-19.
This is the sharpest fall since August 2017.
Markets took a plunge largely due to the reintroduction of the Long Term Capital Gains (LTCG) tax in the Union Budget. The move disappointed investors.
Read More: Union Budget 2018-19: Markets go down as LTCG tax returns
Presenting the Budget in the Parliament on 1 February, Jaitley brought back the LTCG. There will be a tax on LTCG at the rate of 10 per cent for gains exceeding Rs 1 lakh.
“The total amount of exempted capital gains from listed shares and units is around Rs 3,67,000 crores as per returns filed for AY 2017-18,” Jaitley argued to emphasize the need for the LTCG tax.
The return on investment in equity is already quite attractive even without tax exemption, he added.
“However, all gains up to 31 January 2018 will be grandfathered,” he said.
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