Share market ends in red: Sensex closes 1,547 points lower; Nifty slips below 25,000

Updates for this LIVE Blog have ended. 

Benchmark stock market indices closed in red as Sensex and Nifty crashed after the Budget speech from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The S&P BSE Sensex tanked 1,546.84 points to close at 80,722.94, while the NSE Nifty50 lost 495.20 points to end at 24,825.45.

Rushabh Dedhia, Managing Director of JIKA EPC Services Limited, said the Budget sends a strong signal on India’s ambition to become a global data centre hub. He said India’s data centre capacity could rise five-fold to 8 GW by 2030, supported by policy measures announced in the Budget.

“The proposed tax holiday till 2047 for foreign cloud service providers using India-based data centres significantly improves long-term investment visibility and positions India as a competitive destination for hyperscale capacity,” Dedhia said, adding that this could accelerate investments and strengthen India’s standing in the Asia-Pacific region.

He also welcomed the introduction of a 15% safe harbour on costs for related-party data centre service arrangements, saying it reduces regulatory uncertainty and improves ease of doing business. “These steps will accelerate capital inflows, drive large-scale infrastructure creation and strengthen India’s digital backbone,” Dedhia said, noting that data centre expansion will also spur allied investments in power, including renewables, real estate and optical fibre infrastructure, while ensuring domestic demand is served through Indian entities.

Ronak Chiripal, Promoter of Chiripal Group, said Union Budget 2026 lays out a clear policy roadmap for the labour-intensive textile sector, with a strong focus on fibre self-reliance, cluster modernisation and sustainability.

“The integrated programme covering natural and man-made fibres, technology upgradation in traditional clusters, targeted support for handlooms and handicrafts, and the Tex-Eco initiative addresses long-standing structural gaps and improves export competitiveness,” he said.

Chiripal added that the emphasis on building ‘Champion SMEs’ is crucial for textiles, where MSMEs drive jobs and value addition. Measures such as the Rs 10,000-crore SME Growth Fund, additional risk capital for micro enterprises, wider use of TReDS for faster invoice settlement and the proposed ‘Corporate Mitras’ framework could ease working capital stress and compliance challenges, while also helping stabilise apparel and textile prices for consumers over the long term.

Market experts have said that the sharp fall in the Sensex and Nifty during today's special trading session is a knee-jerk reaction to the additional Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on Futures and Options Trade. The revenue secretary also highlighted that the rationale behind the move was to curb speculative trade and prevent losses encountered by retail investors.  

Wipro, Titan, TCS, Max Healthcare and Infosys lead the gainers’ pack, even as SBI, ONGC, Hindalco, Coal India and BEL remain the biggest drags on the indices.

Dalal Street remained deep in the red, with the Sensex down over 1,100 points by 2:55 pm and the Nifty50 slipping below the 25,000 mark. Much of the sell-off stems from investor discomfort over the additional tax on F&O trades.

Benchmark stock market indices had crashed sharply after the Budget speech concluded. 

Sensex had fallen over 2,000 points but rebounded to trade 600 points lower, while the NSE Nifty50 lost 211.35 points to 25,109.30 as of 1:09 PM. 

Jatin Mahajan, President of the Association of Diagnostics Manufacturers of India, said the announcement of Biopharma Shakti with an allocation of Rs 10,000 crore is a timely step to strengthen India’s healthcare manufacturing ecosystem.

“Its focus on quality systems, standardisation and global benchmarking will benefit the IVD and MedTech sector by aligning Indian manufacturing with international regulatory standards and improving export competitiveness,” he said.

Mahajan also welcomed the plan to promote chemical and manufacturing parks across the country, noting that the diagnostics industry still depends heavily on imported raw materials and components. He said such infrastructure can help build domestic supply chains, lower production costs and improve manufacturing resilience, eventually enabling higher indigenous value addition and positioning India as a global hub for diagnostics and medical devices.

The government has proposed increasing the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on commodity futures from 0.02% to 0.05% in Budget 2026. The move raises trading costs for commodity derivatives and is likely to impact turnover and trading sentiment in the futures segment, with traders adjusting positions in response to the higher levy.

The Sensex has tumbled sharply as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman concluded her budget speech. The Sensex was down 1649.86 points to 80,619.92 at 12:34 pm, while the NSE Nifty50 fell 481.90 points to trade at 24,838.75.

The main indices on Dalal Street tumbled sharply even as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a slew of reforms during her Budget 2026 speech. The Sensex was trading nearly 800 points lower at around 12:24 pm, while the Nifty50 was barely above 25,000. 

Shares of companies like BEL, SBI and NTPC were among the top losers during Sunday's special trading session. Other stocks such as Titan, Tata Steel and UltraTech Cement also fell. 

The main indices on Dalal Street have seen no major rally despite a major reforms push in Budget 2026. The Sensex and Nifty are both witnessing swings between gains and losses as investors remain cautious. 

Axis Bank’s brokerage arm Axis Direct has identified three stocks as its weekly technical picks amid Budget-week volatility. The top picks are Bharat Electronics Ltd, Ashok Leyland Ltd and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. According to the brokerage’s weekly technical outlook dated January 30, 2026, all three stocks show strong bullish setups on charts, supported by breakouts and positive momentum indicators, with a suggested holding period of three to four weeks

Nirmala Sitharaman met President Draupadi Murmu ahead of her budget speech as markets traded in green. President Droupadi Murmu fed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman dahi cheeni as a customary ritual ahead of the latter's record ninth straight Budget.

Sensex was up 200 points, while Nifty was above 25,350 ad of 10:50 am. 

The Sensex rose more than 200 points in early trade, an after the opening bell, led by gains in select PSU and heavyweight stocks.

Bharat Electronics Ltd topped the gainers with a rise of 2.36%, followed by Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd, up 1.97%. Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd gained 1.35%, while Larsen and Toubro Ltd advanced 1.24%. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd was also higher by 1.18%.

On the downside, Infosys Ltd slipped 1.43%, Titan Company Ltd fell 0.82%, Tata Steel Ltd declined 0.54%, Bajaj Finserv Ltd dropped 0.49%, and Eternal Ltd eased 0.46%.

Union Budget 2026 Live Updates: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will begin presenting the Union Budget at 11 AM in the Lok Sabha. The Budget documents will be made available on the official website and the mobile app after the completion of her Budget speech in Parliament.

You can also catch the live updates of Budget on our website and you tube channel. 

Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said investors are not expecting major tax reliefs in this Budget since the 2025 Budget already delivered significant income tax cuts.

“Some tweaking of certain taxes is likely,” he said, adding that an increase in the long-term capital gains tax exemption limit from the current Rs 1.25 lakh would be seen as a positive by markets. Vijayakumar said a fiscally prudent, growth-oriented Budget is what the market wants, and added that rumours of long-term capital gains tax exemption for certain categories of foreign institutional investors, if announced, could trigger a market rally.

Nifty sectoral indices were mixed in early trade on Budget Day. Nifty Auto was up 0.67%, while Nifty Private Bank gained 0.16% and Nifty Consumer Durables rose 0.12%. Nifty Oil and Gas was marginally higher.

On the downside, Nifty Metal slipped the most, down 3.10%, followed by Nifty Smallcap 100 falling 1.72% and Nifty Midcap 100 down 0.55%. Nifty IT declined 0.80%, Nifty Media fell 0.61%, and Nifty PSU Bank was lower by 0.91%. Nifty FMCG and Nifty Financial Services also traded in the red. Meanwhile, India VIX jumped 3.53%, indicating higher volatility as markets react to Budget cues.