Indian stocks fell on concerns that the Budget may have provided for tax on participatory-notes issued by foreign institutional investors.
The apprehension that foreign investments may be under scrutiny for tax evasion sent stocks on the descent. Participatory notes are instruments issued by FIIs to foreign investors (usually not registered with the market regulator) with Indian securities as the underlying instrument. These funds usually come through countries such as Mauritius with which India has a tax treaty.
The rupee also dived to two-month low of 51.27/28 to dollar
The Sensex was down 1.8 per cent and ended the day at 17,052 — a two-month low. The NSE Nifty was also down 1.8 per cent, to close the day at 5184. FIIs and DIIs were both sellers, for Rs 135 crore and Rs 200 crore, respectively, in the net. Retail investors bought shares worth Rs 110 crore on the BSE on Monday. “FIIs have only been lightly active the last few days. DIIs, on the other hand, have been selling consistently every time there is a bounce-back in the markets,” said Mr Sunil Jain, VP, Equity Research, Nirmal Bang.
All sector indices ended the day in the red on Monday, with the realty index being the worst performer.
Part of the reason for the market fall could be selling in advance of F&O expiry on Thursday, said analysts.