8:29 am F&O cues: Maximum call open interest (OI) of 57.98 lakh contracts stands at strike price 11,100, which will be a resistance for the February series, followed by 11,000, which now holds 51.91 lakh contracts in open interest, and 10,700, which has accumulated 34.44 lakh contracts in OI.

Call writing was seen at the strike price of 10,900, which saw the addition of 2.58 lakh contracts along with 11,100, which added 2.37 lakh contracts.

Call unwinding was seen at the strike of 10,600, which shed 4.6 lakh shares, followed by 11,000 which shed 3.4 lakh contracts and 10.800 which shed 2.27 lakh shares.

8:15 am US 10-year bond yields: “US 10-year bond yields have touched 4-year high of 2.85% and are likely to breach psychologically important level of 3%. This has led to a sharp 500 plus point plunge in DOW as of now. And this is happening when the US FED hasn’t even started unwinding meaningfully it’s bloated balance sheet- Global Central banks have bought around USD 16 trillion of bonds to stabilise financial markets and kickstart growth post 2008 crisis, said Ajay Bodke, CEO & Chief Portfolio Manager PMS Prabhudas Lilladher.

“Trump’s USD 1 trillion infra build-up plan would add to worries about US fiscal deficit putting additional pressure on bond yields. Lastly, record-low jobless rate and high capacity utilization (or low slack) in the US economy has sparked worries about wages-led inflationary pressures forcing FED to slam the brakes by rapidly increasing interest rates.”

“Whispers of leveraged ETFs (triple or double leveraged) and ETNs lurking in the wings to trigger massive volatility and play a role akin to that played by leveraged mortgage backed securities (MBS) and other complex derivatives before Lehman crisis has started doing the rounds. As an equity investor, I think it’s time to be extremely vigilant,” he added.

8:10 am Gold prices surge: Gold prices edged up on Friday, recovering from more than one-month lows as tumbling equities markets pushed investors into safe-haven assets, but a firmer dollar and worries about rising global interest rates kept gains in check, report CNBC.

8:00 am Crude Check: US oil prices fell for a sixth day on Friday after Iran announced plans to boost production and US crude output hit record highs, adding to concerns about a sharp rise in global supplies.

The falls come amid a rout in global share markets as inflation fears grip investors, report CNBC.

7:50 am: The SGX Nifty is trading at 10,340.50, down 220.50 points.

7:45 am Asian shares plunge: Asian shares took a tumble early on Friday, taking cues from US indexes which extended sharp losses in the last session, reports CNBC. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.95% in early trade, with losses seen in most sectors.

Indian Indices are set to open sharply lower on the back of weak gloabal cues.

7:30 am US markets slip 4%: On Thursday US stocks plunged around 4 percent in another dramatic session, confirming a correction that has thrown the market’s nearly nine-year bull run off course.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,032.89 points, or 4.15 percent, to 23,860.46, the S&P 500 lost 100.66 points, or 3.75 percent, to 2,581 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 274.83 points, or 3.9 percent, to 6,777.16.

The Nifty witnessed a bloodbath on Friday as it plunged over 250 points and the S&P BSE Sensex witnessed a fall of over 800 points. After a 29 percent rally in the year 2017, the Nifty recorded its worst fall of the year 2018.

Bears took control of the markets from the opening tick but selling pressure increased towards the closing of trade which pushed the index below 10,900, which was its crucial support level.

The index formed a Long Black Day on the charts after a High Wave pattern recorded on the Budget Day which suggests that the trend might be drifting towards the downside or could lead to further consolidation.

The index broke below crucial resistance levels of 11,000, followed by 10,900 and 10,800. It also closed below its crucial short-term moving averages of 5-days exponential moving average (DEMA), 13-DEMA, and 10-DEMA, and 20-DEMA.

Widely tracked Supertrend indicator also gave a sell signal on the charts which suggest that bears are likely to remain in control at least in the short term.

As the name suggests, ‘Supertrend’ is a trend following indicator just like Moving Averages and MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence). It is plotted on prices and their placement indicates the current trend. The MACD also gave a Sell signal in the previous trading session.

The Nifty index has a strong support near 10500 levels and any rallies towards 10,900-11,000 should be used to lighten positions, suggest experts.

“The Nifty registered a Long Black Day formation on candlestick charts suggesting an acceleration of downtrend especially after mild negative closes witnessed in preceding three trading sessions,” Mazhar Mohammad, Chief Strategist – Technical Research & Trading Advisory, Chartviewindia.in told Moneycontrol.

“The pace with which Nifty has fallen is suggesting a trend reversal in favour of bears and hence a multi-week top might be in place at the recent high of 11171 levels as it breached critical short-term support points. Selling shall get extended as well into next week towards 10500 levels where significant support on medium-term charts is available,” he said.

Mohammad is of the view that traders should make use of any rally towards 10,900 levels to lighten up their long positions. Upsides for time being shall be capped around 11,000 levels.

India VIX moved up by 8.09 percent at 15.25. A sudden jump in the volatility even after the big event could hit the market sentiment.

We have collated the top fifteen data points to help you spot profitable trade:

Key Support & Resistance Level for Nifty:

The Nifty closed at 10,760.6 on Friday. According to Pivot charts, the key support level is placed at 10,679.47, followed by 10,598.33. If the index starts to move higher, key resistance levels to watch out are 10,898.37 and 11,242.83.

Nifty Bank:

The Nifty Bank closed at 27,220.7. Important Pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 26,973.5, followed by 26,726.3. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 27,540.7, followed by 11,036.13.

Call Options Data:

Maximum call open interest (OI) of 48.15 lakh contracts stands at strike price 11,000, which will be a crucial base for the January series, followed by 11,200, which now holds 44.84 lakh contracts in open interest, and 11,100, which has accumulated 37.92 lakh contracts in OI.

Call writing was seen at the strike price of 10,900, which saw the addition of 21.48 lakh contracts along with 11,000, which added 17.89 lakh contracts, along with 11,200, which saw the addition of 13.60 lakh contracts.

There was hardly any Call unwinding seen.

Put Options Data:

Maximum put OI of 66.13 lakh contracts was seen at strike price 10,500, which will act as a crucial base for January series, followed by 10,800, which now holds 44.38 lakh contracts and 10,700 which has now accumulated 43.05 lakh contracts in open interest.

Maximum Put writing was seen at the strike price of 10,800, which saw the addition of 7.09 lakh contracts, followed by 10,900, which added 6.89 lakh contracts and 10,300, which added 4.19 lakh contracts.

Put unwinding was seen at 11,000, which shed 13.34 lakh contracts, followed by 10,900, which shed 2.93 lakh contracts and 11,200, which shed 1.09 lakh contracts.

FII & DII Data:

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 950 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth Rs 508.78 crore in the Indian equity market, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

Fund Flow Picture:

Stocks with high delivery percentage:

High delivery percentage suggests that investors are accepting the delivery of the stock, which means that investors are bullish on the stock.

3 stocks saw long build-up:

2 stocks saw short covering:

A decrease in open interest along with an increase in price mostly indicates short covering.

140 stocks saw short build-up:

An increase in open interest along with a decrease in price mostly indicates short positions being built up.

67 stocks saw long unwinding:

Long unwinding happens when there is a decrease in OI as well as in price.

Bulk Deals:

Camlin Fine Sciences Ltd: NTGI Collective Funds Trust bought 6,90,166 shares at Rs 120.29 per share

Elpro International Limited: Jupiter South Asian Investment Company Limited sold 1,464,774 shares at Rs 60.9 while The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC bought 1,464,704  shares at Rs 60.9 per share.

Man Industries (India) Limited: Man Finance Private Limited sold 3,500,000 shares at Rs 123.91 per share.

(For more bulk deals click here: https://goo.gl/qrXHCH)

Analyst or Board Meet/Briefings:

Axis Bank held an investor conference in Hong Kong on January 31, 2018.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance: Senior management of the company met the investors of SBI Cap Securities.

GMR Infrastructure Limited: A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company is scheduled on February 13, 2018 to consider and approve the un-audited financial results of the Company.

RPG Life Sciences: The Board of Directors of the Company has considered and approved the un-audited financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2017.

Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals: The Board of Directors has decided to held a meeting on February 12, 2018 for considering and approving unaudited financial results for Q3 ended on December 31, 2017.

Stocks in news:

Inox Wind Q3 net loss at Rs 46.1 crore against a profit of Rs 107.5 crore year on year.

Syndicate Bank: The Company in its Board Meeting has decided to consider the revised capital plan to Rs 3,990 crore for FY 17-18.

The Hi-Tech Gears: The Board of Directors of the Company have declared an interim dividend on equity shares at 15 percent on the paid up share capital of the Company for the year 2017-18.

Aegis Logistics: The Company has declared interim dividend of 50 percent on equity shares of face value of Re 1 per share and has fixed February 12, 2018 as the record date for the purpose of payment of interim dividend during the financial year 2017-18.

GMR Infra
To acquire 4,15,80,000 shares of face value of Rs 10 each, representing 11% equity stake in GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) collectively from Malaysian Airports Holding Berhard

Sintex Plastics
To issue warrants to promoters aggregating to Rs 600cr

Cosmo Films
Commissions second Cast Polypropylene line

NBCC
Letter of Approval from the Government of Assam for construction of Twin Tower Trade Centre at Guwahati, Assam amounting Rs 2000 crore

Windsor Machines
Has entered into an ‘Investment Agreement’ on February 2, 2018 with R Cube Energy Storage Systems LLP (R Cube Energy) for making strategic investment

Aurobindo Pharma gets USFDA approval for Niacin

GAIL
Places order of Rs 440 crore for 350 kilometers Vijaipur(UP) – Auraiya(MP) spurlineRs 3,500 crore capex for City Gas Distribution in financial year 2019

Tata Steel completes completion of 74 percent stake in Bhubaneshwar Power for Rs 255 crore

5 stocks under ban period on NSE

Security in ban period for the next trade date under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.

The security which are banned for trading are Fortis, HDIL, India Cements, JP Associates, and Wockhardt.

The Nifty witnessed a bloodbath on Friday as it plunged over 250 points and the S&P BSE Sensex witnessed a fall of over 800 points. After a 29 percent rally in the year 2017, the Nifty recorded its worst fall of the year 2018.

The Nifty closed at 10,760.6 on Friday. According to Pivot charts, the key support level is placed at 10,679.47, followed by 10,598.33. If the index starts to move higher, key resistance levels to watch out are 10,898.37 and 11,242.83.

The Nifty Bank closed at 27,220.7. Important Pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 26,973.5, followed by 26,726.3. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 27,540.7, followed by 11,036.13.

Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in currency and equity markets today. We have collated a list of important headlines from across news agencies.

US markets slump  as Dow sees worst day in two years

Worries about the impact of a tightening job market on the prospects for inflation and a surge in bond yields sent investors fleeing equities on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrials Average swooning almost 666 points, for its biggest daily percentage loss in 20 months.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 665.75 points, or 2.54 percent, to 25,520.96, the S&P 500 lost 59.85 points, or 2.12 percent, to 2,762.13 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 144.92 points, or 1.96 percent, to 7,240.95, Reuters reported.

Asia markets trade lower; Nikkei down 2%

Asia markets fell in early trade on Monday, following a sharp decline in US stocks on Friday amid a stronger-than-expected jobs report that sent interest rates higher. The Nikkei 225 fell 2.06 percent in early trade, while the Topix index was down 1.71 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index fell 1.66 percent, CNBC reported.

SGX Nifty

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a negative opening for the broader index in India, a dip of 103 points or 0.98 percent. Nifty futures were trading around 10,615-level on the Singaporean Exchange.

Normal monsoon, steady crude prices can push India’s growth to over 8% in FY19: FM

The Indian economy’s growth can canter into an 8 percent-plus growth track if crude oil prices stay within manageable limits and the monsoon rains turn out to be normal this year, finance minister Arun Jaitley said.

“Some indicators, which are known as green shoots in the language of business, such as business confidence, PMI (purchase managers’ index), core (infrastructure) sector growth, are all good. We need to see what happens next,” Jaitley told News 18 Network in an exclusive interview.

RBI should refrain from hiking rates on Feb 7 policy: Assocham

The Reserve Bank should not “over-react” to high yield pressures in the bond market and refrain from hiking interest rates in its next monetary policy review on February 7, industry body Assocham said.

“Some of the macro indicators, including pegging of higher fiscal deficit of 3.3 percent for 2018-2019 and 3.5 percent of the GDP for the current fiscal, look difficult, but reaction of the bond market would ease out soon,” Assocham said in a post-Budget paper.

FPI inflows at $3.5bn in Jan on better earnings expectation

Foreign investors have pumped in a whopping USD 3.5 billion (over Rs 22,000 crore) into the country’s capital markets in January in anticipation of better corporate earnings and attractive yields.

According to depositories data, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) infused a net amount of Rs 13,781 crore in equities and Rs 8,473 crore in debt in January – translating into net inflows of Rs 22,254 crore (USD 3.5 billion).

LTCG tax kitty from stocks to double to Rs 40K cr in FY20: Hasmukh Adhia

The government hopes to double its revenue from long term capital gains (LTCG) tax on stocks to Rs 40,000 crore in 2019-20 as more share transactions come in its fold with the waning of the grandfathering effect, a top official has said.

Adhia said a huge Rs 3.67 lakh crore, as per the I-T returns filed for Assessment Year 2017-18, has been exempted from tax as it under the LTCG from listed shares.

Pro-Brexit MPs plotting to replace Theresa May: Report

Pro-Brexit lawmakers are plotting to topple Prime Minister Theresa May if she tries to keep Britain in the EU’s tariff-free customs union, media reports said ahead of crucial Cabinet meetings over Britain’s future relationship with the European Union later this week.

According to UK media reports, Conservative party MPs in favour of a complete break from the EU have threatened to submit a “tsunami” of letters demanding a vote of no confidence unless May backs their demand of a complete exit from the EU customs union.

Govt expects up to Rs 4,000 cr surplus fund from SEBI: DEA Secy

The government is eyeing Rs 3,000 -4000 crore surplus funds lying with markets regulator Sebi as part of exercise to mop up non-tax revenue to bridge the fiscal deficit gap, a senior official has said.

“They have run up into some surplus already. So, there is that should be kept in public account rather than banks. That is being discussed. That amount is not very large, it’s around Rs 3,000-4000 crore,” Economic Affairs Secretary S C Garg said.

Rupee crumbles to a two week low on fiscal deficit woes

The Indian rupee suffered an intense plunge and closed at a near two-week low of 64.06 against the US dollar after the government announced long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax on equities and widened its fiscal deficit target while unveiling the Union Budget.

The home currency plunged to a fresh one-month low of 64.20 on Thursday before ending at 64.06, showing a loss of 51 paise, or 0.80 percent.

The D-Street witnessed a volatile day as the index moved in a band of over 200-points on throughout the trading session on Thursday which led to a formation of a ‘High Wave’ kind of pattern on the daily candlestick charts.

The government reverted to fiscal consolidation roadmap with a target of 3.3 percent for 2018-2019 which was still higher than the analyst estimate of 3.2 percent.

The Nifty which opened at 11,044 which rose to an intraday high of 11,117.35. But, bears took control of D-Street and pushed the index below 13-DEMA to touch its intraday low of 10,878. The index closed near its 5-DEMA at 11,016, down 10 points.

India Union Budget 2018-19 Live: News, updates and highlights from FM Arun Jaitley’s Budget 2018 speech, announcementsAccording to Pivot charts, the key support level is placed at 10,891.37, followed by 10,765.83. If the index starts to move higher, key resistance levels to watch out are 11,129.87 and 11,242.83.

The Nifty Bank closed at 27,220.7. Important Pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 26,973.5, followed by 26,726.3. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 27,540.7, followed by 27,860.7.

Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in currency and equity markets today. We have collated a list of important headlines from across news agencies.

Wall Street shares forfeit early gains as bond yields rise

Wall Street stocks gave up early gains on Thursday as bond yields rose and technology stocks retreated ahead of a host of high-profile earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 37.32 points, or 0.14 percent, to 26,186.71, the S&P 500 lost 1.83 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,821.98 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 25.62 points, or 0.35 percent, to 7,385.86, Reuters reported.

Most markets in Asia decline following rise in US bond yields

Asian shares came under pressure early on Friday after Wall Street closed mixed and yields on US government debt rose in the last session. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.75 percent after snapping a six-day losing streak in the previous session. The Kospi fell 0.96 percent as declines in blue chip tech names drove the index lower, CNBC reported.

SGX Nifty

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a negative opening for the broader index in India, a dip of 118 points or 1.08 percent. Nifty futures were trading around 10,930-level on the Singaporean Exchange.

Budget 2018: FM’s booster dose for rural India, bitter pill for investors

FM announced a raft of farm-centric measures, including to raise the minimum support prices (MSP) for crops, allocated Rs 10,000 crore two special funds for fisheries and animal husbandry, that would benefit 500 million people and raised farm bank credit to Rs 11 lakh crore in 2018-19 from Rs 10 lakh crore this year.

He levied LTCG at 10 percent for investments over Rs 1 lakh. This triggered an immediate sell off in bourses, which could force a shuffle in stocks portfolio of many individuals and institutional funds and lowered the corporate income tax rates to 25 percent for all companies with a turnover of upto Rs 250 crore.

Budget 2018: Salaried class and investors left in the cold

Finance Minister reimposed the LTCG tax on stock trading. He levied LTCG at 10 percent for investments over Rs 1 lakh. This triggered an immediate sell off in bourses, which could force a shuffle in stocks portfolio of many individuals and institutional funds. Jaitley lowered the corporate income tax rates to 25 percent for all companies with a turnover of upto Rs 250 crore.

Jaitley brought back the concept of “standard deduction,” a base amount of Rs 40,000 that is not subject to tax in addition to the basic exemption limit, providing relief to every tax payer.

The annual tax exemption also remained unchanged at Rs 2.5 lakh. He also did not rejig tax slabs. He also raised education cess on all tax payers from three percent to four percent.

IMF welcomes fiscal budget targets set by Jaitley

The IMF on Thursday welcomed the fiscal targets set by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the annual budget proposals and noted that the economic survey released this week strikes a good balance with realistic forecast.

“We broadly shared the overall assessment of the state of the economy in particular the economic survey’s outlook of 6.7 percent in fiscal 2017-2018 and 7-7.5 percent in 2018-19,” William Murray, deputy spokesman, International Monetary Fund said.

Budget 2018: Rs 2.95 lakh crore allocated for defence

The defence budget was increased by 7.81 percent to Rs 2.95 lakh crore against last year’s Rs 2.74 lakh crore, belying expectations of a significant hike when the armed forces are facing growing challenge on the borders with both Pakistan and China.

Out of total allocation of Rs 2,95,511 crore for the defence budget, Rs 99,947 crore has been set aside for capital outlay to purchase of new weapons, aircraft, warships and other military hardware.

Govt to merge 3 PSU general insurers into one, list on bourses

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday proposed to merge three public sector general insurance firms into one and list that entity on bourses. “Three public sector general insurance companies — National Insurance Co Ltd, United India Assurance Co Ltd and Oriental India Insurance Company — will be merged into a single insurance company and be subsequently listed.”

WHO welcomes announcement of govt-funded healthcare programme

The WHO on Thursday said they were “significant” steps towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC), something the global health body has been advocating for.

Regional Director of World Health Organization’s South- East Asia Region Poonam Khetrapal Singh commended the new schemes and initiatives planned to “holistically” address problems confronting the health sector.

No cut in telecom levies, stressed sector remains orphan: COAI

Telecom operators body COAI on Thursday expressed anguish at the Union Budget not addressing the industry’s key demands, such as cut in levies and taxes, and said the sector which is in deep financial stress “continues to remain an orphan”.

10-yr bonds fall as Budget 2018 sets larger deficit target of 3.3% for FY19

Indian bonds slumped on Thursday after the government set a slightly wider-than-expected budget deficit target for the next financial year, while shares clawed back earlier bigger losses as investors welcomed spending in key areas of the slowing economy.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley set the government’s fiscal deficit at 3.3 percent of gross domestic product for the 2018/19 financial year, higher than market expectations of 3.2 percent.

Rupee crumbles 44 paise on LTCG tax, fiscal deficit woes

The rupee on Thursday plunged 44 paise to close at a near two-week low of 64.02 against the US dollar after the government announced long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax on equities and widened its fiscal deficit target while unveiling the Union Budget. This is the biggest one-day fall for the rupee since January 16.

Nearly 100 companies to  declare Q3 results today

As many as 97 companies are scheduled to report their results for quarter ended December which include names like 3M India, Aditya Birla Fashion, Aegis Logistics, BSE, Dalmia Bharat Sugar, Future Lifestyle Fashion, Gayatri Sugars, GSK Pharma, Godrej Properties, Gujarat Gas, Info Edge, Jindal Drilling and Industries, Mangalam Organics, MRPL, Mirza International, Tata Metaliks, Thomas Cook, Whirlpool and Inox Wind among others.

Galaxy Surfactants IPO subscribed 20 times last day

Galaxy Surfactants initial public offer was subscribed 19.97 times so far on the last day of bidding on Thursday. Its Rs 937-crore IPO received bids for 8,85,08,110 shares against the total issue size of 44,32,174 shares, NSE data showed.

The IPO is in a price band of Rs 1,470-1,480 per share. ICICI Securities, Edelweiss Financial Services and J M Financial Institutional Securities are managing the company’s issue.

Hindalco Q3 profit could rise 50%, Bajaj Auto Q3 profit seen up 14%

Hindalco Industries is likely to post a 50 percent rise in its December quarter net profit at Rs 480 crore against Rs 320 crore year on year, according to a poll of analysts by CNBC-TV18.

Bajaj Auto’s third quarter (October-December) profit is expected to increase 14.5 percent to Rs 1,058 crore, from Rs 924.6 crore in same quarter last year. Revenue from operations may grow 24 percent to Rs 6,251 crore from Rs 5,067 crore YoY, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.bond

Finance minister Arun Jaitley introduced the much talked about long term capital gains tax (LTCG) on sale of listed securities on gains of over Rs1 lakh.

The move surprised D-Street as most analysts were factoring in a change in definition of ‘Long Term’ to 2 or 3 years from 1 year.

Jaitley, introduced a long-term capital gains tax of 10 percent if the gains exceed Rs 100,000 without allowing the benefit of indexation. However, all gains till 31st January 2018 will be grandfathered and short term capital gains remains unchanged at 15 percent.

India Union Budget 2018-19 Live: News, updates and highlights from FM Arun Jaitley’s Budget 2018 speech, announcements

For example, if the equity share is purchased 6 months before 31st January 2018 at Rs100 and the highest price quoted on 31st Jan is Rs120. There will be no tax on the sale, if the stock is sold after 1 year.

However, any gains in excess of Rs20 earned after 31st Jan 2018 will be taxed at 10 percent if this share is sold after 31st July 2018.

“The much-anticipated introduction of LTCG is now back with a new avatar. As we know in tax legislation, this could only get worse over a period of time with every successive budget diluting the original commitment of taxing long-term gains,” Milind Kothari, Managing Partner, BDO India.

Long-term capital gains were made tax exempt in 2004. The move to exempt capital gains tax on stock trading was aimed at aligning rules with major investment source destinations such as Mauritius.

The widened definition of long-term could, however, spark a major portfolio overhaul of domestic and foreign institutional investors who move around their portfolio many times in three years seeking higher returns. These investment decisions are backed by research that generally tracks a 52-week return history.

Here is how D-Street reacted.

Gaurav Dua, Head of Research, Sharekhan

He said that the proposal to levy long term capital gains tax on equities at the rate of 10% is a negative surprise but not the limited rate with grandfathering of purchases up to Jan 31, 2018 would mitigate the adverse impact to a large extent.

“Overall, we believe that the focus would revert to corporate earnings with little impact of Union Budget on bond yields and equity markets,” he said.In 2016, India signed amended double-tax avoidance agreements (DTAAs) with Mauritius, Singapore and Cyprus.

Jayant Manglik, President- Religare Broking Ltd

“A good last budget before the elections though the fiscal deficit at 3.5% was definitely higher than expected. The rural & farmer focus was expected and necessary. Other than a kneejerk reaction, equity market will not be impacted in the medium and the long term as it is still the only real investment opportunity available. FII investments may be affected in the short run as the issue of tax compliance come up which increases operational cost. Likewise mutual funds may see a brief impact but the grandfathering till the 31st January helps. The real disappointment was the continuation of STT along with Itcg, logically only one should be there.”

Nilesh Shetty, Associate Fund Manager-Equity Funds

From an equity market perspective the reintroduction of Long Term Capital Gains Tax (LTCG) is a big negative. Security Transaction tax (STT) was introduced for its simplicity of collection and assured revenues. With the reintroduction of LTCG and collection of STT equities are bearing the brunt of both taxes together. The fiscal deficit number at 3.3% looks marginally higher than estimates which could disappoint the bond markets.

Anil Rego, Founder and CEO, Right Horizons

LTCG introduction @10% on equity is a negative without removal of STT. Would have preferred increasing STT or increasing the tenure (to say 2 years), rather than change the tax rate; so as to reward long term investing.

Dhiraj Relli, MD & CEO at HDFC Securities

“LTCG exemption was an attraction for new investors into equity/equity mutual funds and brought funds from other low paying avenues. Rising interest rates domestically and tax on LTCG could result in minor reversal of this trend. Reaction of FPIs and the bond markets locally to the 3.3% fiscal deficit proposed in FY19 will be keenly watched in the background of rising rates abroad.”