On Sunday, February 1, 2026, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2026-27. Since the budget was presented on a Sunday, a special trading session was organized for the stock markets. The market witnessed a massive fall during the speech, with the Sensex crashing by over 1,600 points. However, some recovery was seen in the final hours of trading. Investors were mainly reacting to new tax rules announced for the trading sector.
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Why did the Share Market fall today?
The primary reason for the sharp decline in the Sensex and Nifty was the announcement regarding the Securities Transaction Tax (STT). The government has increased the STT on the Futures and Options (F&O) segment. For futures, the tax has been raised from 0.02% to 0.05%, and for options, it has gone up from 0.10% to 0.15%. This decision negatively impacted market sentiment, leading to a drop in broking stocks like Angel One and BSE Ltd by up to 10%. Additionally, share buybacks will now be taxed as capital gains, which further worried investors.
Major Announcements on Gold and Expenses
Apart from the stock market volatility, the commodity market also saw big changes. Gold and silver prices crashed significantly, hitting a 6% lower circuit on the MCX. Silver became cheaper by Rs 17,515 per kg. In other news, the government increased the capital expenditure for infrastructure to Rs 12.2 lakh crore. For common people planning foreign trips, the Tax Collected at Source (TCS) on foreign tour packages has been reduced to 2%. However, there were no major changes in personal income tax slabs, which left the middle class slightly disappointed.
