The government’s move to curb speculative trading by raising the securities transaction tax (STT) on derivatives spooked investors on Sunday with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty falling sharply by nearly 2 per cent. The budget proposed to raise the STT on futures to 0.05 per cent from present 0.02 per cent. “We must be realistic about the impact of STT on capital markets. Almost all the major sectoral indices traded in to the red but capital market, defence, and PSU bank indices lost the most, shedding over 5 per cent. Analysts, however, remain bullish on long term participation from foreign investors despite the short term impact from STT rise.

Source: The Telegraph February 02, 2026 01:58 UTC