BSE shares close nearly at day's low as NSE CEO sees decline in F&O volumes due to STT hike

BSE shares close nearly at day's low as NSE CEO sees decline in F&O volumes due to STT hike

• BSE shares fell 2% after NSE CEO warned of F&O volume degrowth
• STT hike on F&O trades to take effect from April
• NSE invites banks, law firms for IPO advisory pitches

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Shares of BSE fell 2 percentage points from day's high as NSE CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan said more degrowth is likely in F&O volumes after Securities Transaction Tax (STT) hike comes into effect in April.

Chauhan's comments at an event in Mumbai caused BSE shares to fall 2 percentage points in the last 20 minutes of trading.

He said need for futures & options will go up as geopolitical risks rise.

"Rules to curb speculation will continue," he said.

On February 26, BSE shares closed nearly flat at Rs 2,774 apiece after hitting intraday high of Rs 2,774.

During Budget 2026, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a proposal to raise the STT on Futures to 0.05 per cent from the present 0.02 per cent, while the STT on options premium and exercise of options to be raised to 0.15 per cent from the present rate of 0.1 per cent and 0.125 per cent, respectively.

Sitharaman said the move will "provide reasonable course correction" in the F&O segment in the capital market and generate additional revenues for the government.

According to studies by Sebi, over 90% of the retail investors' trades in the F&O segment lead to losses, and the capital markets regulator has also taken steps to reduce the volumes in the past.

Nifty Capital Markets index closed in mild red on February 26, led by losses in CDSL, Kfin Tech, Angel One, which declined 2.6%, 2.2% and 2%, respectively.

Meanwhile, National Stock Exchange (NSE) floated an RFP (request for proposal) earlier this week and invited multiple investment banks and law firms for IPO pitches, multiple industry sources in the know told Moneycontrol.

"The selection process for advisors has kickstarted and NSE has reached out to around 20 investment banks and around 10 law firms. Information on aspects like track record and team details have been sought from all the advisory firms by Friday," one of the persons told Moneycontrol.