24,825<\/strong>. These are sharp moves, especially against the backdrop of what would usually be one of the calmer periods in the trading calendar.<\/p>\nThis isn\u2019t just a one-off blip. On the day of the Budget (Feb 1)<\/strong>, markets logged their steepest Budget-session slide in six years<\/strong>, with volatility (India VIX) surging double digits and heavyweights across sectors bleeding red.<\/p>\nWhat Dented the Rally<\/h2>\n
At the heart of the sell-off is a policy surprise in Budget 2026:<\/strong> a higher Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on futures and options<\/strong>. The government\u2019s decision to raise STT on derivatives was met with an abrupt mood shift, especially among traders and institutions who see this as a direct hit on liquidity and profitability.<\/p>\nAdd to that the absence of expected tax breaks on capital gains<\/strong>, and markets were forced into a reality check that was sharper than most had priced in pre-budget. When you combine those elements, it\u2019s clear why equity markets screeched to a halt and peeled back hard after initially positive pre-budget expectations.<\/p>\nBroader Sentiment: Flat Start, But Clouds Loom<\/h2>\n
Data from early trade indicators, including GIFT Nifty futures,<\/strong>\u00a0pointed to a muted or flat start<\/strong> for benchmarks on Monday, barely off from the previous close even as global markets hinted at risk-off tendencies.<\/p>\nInternational cues were mixed. Asian shares mostly drifted lower, while precious metals retraced after a dramatic sell-off late last week, and the U.S. dollar gained ground ahead of major central bank decisions, adding to risk aversion among cross-border investors.<\/p>\n
Corporate Focus: Stocks in Spotlight<\/h2>\n
Amid this market stress, several individual names drew attention:<\/p>\n
\n- \n
BEL (Bharat Electronics)<\/strong> and HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics)<\/strong> were among the frontline stocks in focus, particularly with defence allocations in the Budget and mixed reactions to sectoral commentary.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n- \n
ITC<\/strong> remained under the spotlight as recent excise duty hikes lifted cigarette prices, pressuring sentiment around the stock.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n- \n
Other names like Hero MotoCorp<\/strong>, Anant Raj<\/strong>, and Adani Green<\/strong> were also mentioned as key stories to watch, with third-quarter earnings and Budget implications shaping the discourse.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nMacro Caveats: Currency, Bonds and Foreign Flows<\/h2>\n
Outside equities, the rupee\u2019s slide towards the 92-per-dollar mark<\/strong> underscored the cautious mood. Traders eyed Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervention as a possible buffer, but the currency remained spotty amid risk-off flows.<\/p>\nForeign Portfolio Investors (FPIs), already selling aggressively over recent sessions, are a key fly in the ointment for markets, with outflows intensifying on the back of weak sentiment and rising global yields.<\/p>\n
Why This Matters<\/h2>\n
A sharp sell-off like this, especially tied to fiscal policy changes, is more than a momentary dip it reshapes expectations for sectors like derivatives trading, liquidity flow, and risk pricing<\/strong>. Given the market\u2019s dynamic over the past year, characterized by ebbing returns and heightened volatility, Monday\u2019s activity feels more like a psychological inflection point than just another red day on the charts.<\/p>\nInvestors and traders will be parsing every Budget line item for longer-term signals, but right now, the message from Dalal Street is clear: policy surprises can override broader macro positives, at least in the short term.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Markets Recoil After Budget Shock\u2014Sensex and Nifty Tumble Deep There was no happy Monday morning on Dalal Street. After a bruising Budget-weekend session, Indian equity benchmarks opened with a sombre tone on Feb 2, 2026, reflecting the simmering unease triggered by the Union Budget 2026. The sense of disquiet wasn\u2019t random; it was the culmination […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[615],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[1523],"class_list":{"0":"post-20577","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-stock-market-news"}," _eael_post_view_count":0,"authors":[{"term_id":1523,"user_id":11,"is_guest":0,"slug":"nikki","display_name":"Nikki Lodha","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ae2e265bd56e0e890c866fbaa55d29846ba20cc5372adf666652268816af117e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.niftytrader.in\/markets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.niftytrader.in\/markets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.niftytrader.in\/markets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.niftytrader.in\/markets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.niftytrader.in\/markets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20577"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.niftytrader.in\/markets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20578,"href":"https:\/\/www.niftytrader.in\/markets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20577\/revisions\/20578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.niftytrader.in\/markets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.niftytrader.in\/markets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.niftytrader.in\/markets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.niftytrader.in\/markets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20577"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.niftytrader.in\/markets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=20577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}