SENSEX, NIFTY50 post best day in 6 months after Finance Minister says keen on hearing views on LTCG tax

The Indian equity benchmarks posted their best single-day gain in six months, after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at Bloomberg New Economy Forum said that the government is keen to hear views on long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax as investors in India and abroad have raised questions about equity taxation.

The SENSEX rose as much as 1,109 points or 1.54%, its biggest single-day gain since March 25, to close at 73,034 and NIFTY50 index climbed 1.6% or 359 points, its best day since April 15, to close at 22,722.

Speaking at the Bloomberg event in New Delhi, Sitharaman said that debate also involves the securities transaction tax (STT) and whether different asset classes should be treated similarly.

"LTCG, something on which a lot of people are commenting... both investors within India and who meet me outside," she said. "In India it’s also a question of transaction tax that we have in the securities market and question of treating all asset classes similarly, there is a lot of debate. It is healthy to have this debate, and I will be keen to hearing them," she said.

The research wing of the country's top lender State Bank of India in a report had yesterday argued that the government should look at abolishing the LTCG tax on holding period of 2-3 years in order to attract hot money towards Indian equities.

The investor sentiment also got a boost after IMF raised its growth forecast for India to 7% for 2026, citing stronger-than-expected economic momentum, resilient domestic demand and robust services activity.

"A sustained hold above 22,600 could extend the recovery towards 22,800 and 23,000, while a fall below 22,500 would weaken the breakout setup," said Hariselvan Radhakrishnan, Founder & CEO of HST Wealth.

Buying was visible across board as all 13 of 15 major sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended higher led by the NIFTY IT index's 5.22% gain. IT shares came under buying interest as a slide in Asian chipmakers triggered a rotation into the so-called anti-AI trade, analysts noted.

NIFTY Bank, Financial Services, Auto, FMCG, Metal, PSU Bank, Realty and Consumer Durables indices 1% and 2.5%.

Broader markets also witnessed buying interest as NIFTY Midcap 100 index climbed 1.06% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index advanced 0.1%.

HCL Tech was top gainer in the NIFTY50 index, the stock rose 8.42% to close at ₹1,326 after it posted a 10.94% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) jump in its consolidated net profit (attributable to the owners of the company) to ₹5,132 crore during the quarter under review, compared with ₹4,626 crore in the first quarter of FY27 (Q1 FY27).

Annually, the firm’s profit rose 21.18% year-on-year (YoY) from ₹4,235 crore in the second quarter of the 2025-26 fiscal year (Q2 FY26).

The company recorded advanced artificial intelligence (AI) revenue of $219 million, in CC terms, marking a 28.4% QoQ and 78% YoY growth.

TCS, Infosys, BSE, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Larsen & Toubro, Shriram Finance and ICICI Bank also rose between 1.5% and 6.8%.

On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Eternal, Maruti Suzuki and Max Healthcare were notable losers in the NIFTY50 index.

The overall market breadth was positive as 2,128 shares ended higher while 1,418 closed lower on the NSE.