Mumbai, February 29
The Budget 2008-09 gave mixed signals to markets but the proposal to hike the short-term capital gains tax did not go down well as the benchmark Sensex dipped by more than 240 points today.
The 30-share index on the Bombay Stock Exchange recovered from steep intra-day lows and ended the day at 17,578.72, a fall of 245.76 points, or 1.38 per cent, from its last close.
National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved between 5,290.80 and 5,098.35 points, before ending at 5,223.50, a loss of 61.60 points.
Marketmen said while the proposed hike in levy on securities held for less than a year poured water on investor sentiments, some other encouraging proposals for sectors like auto, infrastructure, pharma and agriculture were welcomed with cheers.
However, the markets took the proposal to keep corporate and surchagres unchanged with a pinch of salt.
Marketmen said a tardy 8.4 per cent GDP growth for the third quarter of the fiscal, confirming fears of a slowdown expressed in the Economic survey, also weighed down on the market sentiments.
The Sensex, in a knee-jerk reaction to the Budget proposal of a hike in short-term capital gain tax to 15 per cent, had plunged by about 500 points to a low of 17,337.46 in the afternoon trade.
The Budget left corporate tax and surcharge unchanged.
Some analysts, however, said the Budget continued to be a non-event for stock markets, which will be rather influenced by global trends. They attributed today’s fall to concerns over soaring crude oil prices and a likely US recession.
— PTI
