The benchmark Nifty 50 index declined by 1.35%, trading at 24,988.45 points at 12:40 p.m. during the special session on Sunday (February 1, 2026), after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman increased the securities transaction tax on derivatives trades in the Union Budget for 2026-27. The NSE opened flat and remained so for the better part of the one-and-a-half-hour budget speech. Almost all sectoral indices increased, but more than 10 of the 21 sectoral indices on the NSE were trading down, some by more than 1%. Read more Share this: Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email More Click to print (Opens in new window) Print Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Click to share on Nextdoor (Opens in new window) Nextdoor Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Like this:Like Loading... Post navigation Union Budget 2026: India set to host first ever Global Big Cat summit FM lists steps to boost semiconductors during Budget speech