Stock Market Tumbles Day After Budget, Investors' Wealth Shrinks By Rs 4.6 Lakh Crore
The sell-off was broad-based as a total of 2,500 odd stocks went down as against nearly 300 stocks which rose to the bar.
Mumbai, Feb 2: The stock market tumbled big-time on Friday, a day after the Union Budget 2018-19 was tabled, with a total of $70 billion of domestic equities being eroded. The 30-share Sensex dropped by 2.34 per cent, or 839.91 points, to end at 35,066.75. The Bombay Stock Exchange, on the other hand, plunged by 840 pts.
The carnage at Dalal Street today shrunk the total investors' wealth by nearly Rs 4.6 lakh crore. This marks the biggest single-day downfall ever since August 24, 2015, when the BSE had plummeted 1,624.51 pts.
The sell-off was broad-based as a total of 2,500 odd stocks went down as against nearly 300 stocks which rose to the bar.
Analysts have linked the carnage at Dalal Street to the imposition of 10 percent long-term capital gains tax on equities.
A total of 27 listed firms of the Sensex-30 faced the brunt of what analysts have called 'Freaky Friday'. The majors among them were Bajaj Auto and Bharti Airtel. Sector-wise, the day proved to be disastrous for realty and infrastructure investors.
According to analysts, not only the government's decision to reimpose the long-term capital gains tax and securities transaction tax (STT) has disappointed the market, but the weakening of fiscal deficit target has also raised questions. The government has set a target of 3.5 per cent fiscal deficit in FY18-19, against what was earlier expected to be 3 per cent.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 02, 2018 07:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).