Budget blow: Sensex sinks 988 points; Rs 3.46 lakh cr investor wealth wiped off

Mumbai: The Sensex logged its biggest single-day plunge in more than a decade on Saturday after the Union Budget failed to live up to market expectations of growth-boosting measures and fiscal discipline.

The benchmarks, which started on a shaky note, tanked soon after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman pegged the fiscal deficit at 3.8 per cent for the current fiscal, compared to the earlier target of 3.3 per cent of GDP. Presenting the Union Budget for 2020-21 in Parliament, Sitharaman also proposed lower income tax slabs for those foregoing various exemptions, and removed dividend distribution tax on companies, effectively shifting the tax burden to the recipients.

Nosediving nearly 1,275 points from the day's high, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 987.96 points or 2.43 per cent lower at 39,735.53.

This was the benchmark's biggest drop since October 24, 2008, when it had plummeted 1,070.63 points, and the fourth biggest fall overall. On similar lines, the 50-share NSE Nifty plunged 300.25 points or 2.51 per cent to close at 11,661.85.

Investor wealth, measured in terms of value of all listed shares on BSE, plunged by Rs 3,46,256.76 crore to reach Rs 1,53,04,724.97 crore.

ITC was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, tanking 6.97 per cent, after the Budget hiked the excise duty on cigarettes.

L&T, HDFC, SBI, ONGC, ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank also lost up to 5.98 per cent.

On the other hand, TCS rallied 4.13 per cent, followed by HUL, Nestle India, Tech Mahindra and Infosys.