Budget effect: Investors lose Rs 4.5 lakh cr as Sensex crashes 840pts

Mumbai: Benchmark Sensex suffered its worst rout in more than two years on Friday as the Budget proposals on taxing equities torpedoed investor sentiment.

The 30-share index plummeted 840 points – the biggest single-day slump since August 24, 2015 – while the broader NSE Nifty tanked over 250 points to finish below the 10,800 mark.

Investors saw a wealth erosion of more than Rs 4.5 lakh crore as stocks went into a free-fall.

The 2018-19 Budget imposed a long-term capital gains tax of 10% on equities. Investors will also have to pay 10% tax on distributed income from equity-oriented mutual funds.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also projected a fiscal deficit of 3.5% of GDP for the current fiscal against the earlier target of 3.2%.

Market mood suffered another setback on Friday after Fitch Ratings said the high debt burden of the government constrains India’s rating upgrade.

The flagship Sensex crashed 839.91 points or 2.34% to end the day at 35,066.75 as jittery investors slashed their portfolios.

This is its biggest single session fall since August 24, 2015, when it had lost 1,624.51 points.

The broader NSE Nifty cracked below the 10,800-mark by tanking 256.30 points – 2.33%- to 10,760.60 at closing. Intra-day, it hit a low of 10,736.10.