PRE-MARKET INDIAN STOCKS NEWS: Indian benchmarks were pressured in a rare-budget session on Sunday following the announcement to raise the Securities Transaction Tax on futures and options trading

The Indian government's decision to raise the Securities Transaction Tax on futures and options trading may weigh on investor sentiment, as such regulatory changes can deter trading activity and liquidity in the markets.

Newsquawk StaffPublished 2 Feb 2026, 03:59 UTCOn the live feed at 03:39 UTC — 1 more headline followed before this page went public

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04:00

Indonesian Balance of Trade (Dec) 2.52B vs. Exp. 2.45B (Prev. 2.66B, Rev. From 2.84B)

03:57

[MARKET UPDATE] Risk assets extend on their declines with US equity futures at fresh session lows, while South Korea leads Asia lower with the KOSPI down 5%, while metal prices continues to slump with spot silver down 10%

03:39

PRE-MARKET INDIAN STOCKS NEWS: Indian benchmarks were pressured in a rare-budget session on Sunday following the announcement to raise the Securities Transaction Tax on futures and options trading

03:33

Korea Exchange activates sidecar on KOSPI which halts sell orders for program trading for five minutes after KOSPI 200 futures declined 5%

03:32

[MARKET ANALYSIS] Asia-Pac stocks mostly declined amid several recent bearish themes

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India Budget

India increased infrastructure spending in its annual budget with the capital spending target for the upcoming fiscal year lifted by around 9% to INR 12.2tln, while it proposed to boost manufacturing in strategic sectors including rare earths and semiconductors, as well as proposed a tax holiday up to 2047 for foreign cloud companies making data centre investments in India. Furthermore, it strongly emphasised fiscal restraint and targeted reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio to 50% (+/-1%) from 56% by 2030/2031 and estimates the fiscal deficit will decline to 4.3% from 4.4% of GDP, while it is to raise the Securities Transaction Tax on futures and options trading. (Newswires)

Context

However, the overall budget focus on infrastructure spending and support for strategic sectors like semiconductors indicates a longer-term commitment to economic growth, which could balance out immediate bearish reactions. Traders should watch for market adjustments as participants digest the implications of these fiscal policies and their potential impact on equity valuations.

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