Nifty closes below 24,500, Sensex nears 80,400 amid volatile trade on Budget Day

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed slightly down on Tuesday after a volatile trading session driven by the announcement of the Union Budget for 2024–25. The government proposed to hike the securities transaction tax (STT) on futures and options (F&O) trading, causing initial market jitters. The BSE Sensex recovered most of its over 1,200-point intra-day loss, closing down by 73.04 points or 0.09%, at 80,429.04. It hit a low of 79,224.32 after the finance minister's announcement. The NSE Nifty also dipped, ending 30.20 points or 0.12% lower at 24,479.05, after dropping to 24,074.20 during the day.