Stock Market Highlights: Today, the Indian stock market witnessed a volatile session following the announcement of the Union Budget. Both major indices finished significantly lower after fluctuating between gains and losses throughout the day. The Sensex dropped by 1,546 points, ending at 80,722, while the Nifty 50 decreased by 1.95% to settle at 24,825.
The market began optimistically, with the Sensex rising by over 450 points in early trading, but considerable selling pressure emerged following the Budget speech. A primary factor behind the market drop was the government’s decision to significantly raise the STT on derivatives trading.
In her Budget address for 2026-27, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a hike in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on derivatives, a step intended to reduce rampant speculation within the futures and options (F&O) market.
“STT on options premium and exercise of options are both proposed to be raised to 0.15% from the present rate of 0.1% and 0.125% respectively,” she said.
After the hike, the Sensex fell sharply by 2,370.36 points, or 2.88%, dropping below the 80,000 mark to reach 79,899.42 in the afternoon trading session. The Nifty 50 also dropped significantly by 748.9 points, or 2.95%, settling at 24,571.75. Subsequently, the market made a recovery.
The Nifty 50 index opened at 25,333.75, registering a marginal gain of 13.10 points or 0.05%, while the BSE Sensex opened at 82,445.97, up by 176.19 points or 0.21%.
The debt and foreign exchange markets are closed.
Both the major stock exchanges, BSE and NSE, were open for a special trading session today on Budget day, 1 February 2026.
This is just the second instance in the history of Indian stock markets where trading occurs on a weekend for a special budget session. The markets were previously opened on a weekend in 1999, when the Union Budget was announced on February 27, a Saturday.
Stay tuned to our Stock Market Today Budget 2026 Live blog for the latest updates.