

Budget 2026: STT hike to hit derivatives trading volumes
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Stocks of capital-market-related companies such as exchanges and discount brokers have been hit hardest by the steep hike in securities transaction tax (STT). Listed companies aren’t the only ones that will bear the brunt — the valuation of NSE’s upcoming initial public offering (IPO) will also be affected as it is the dominant exchange in equity derivatives trading.
Discount brokers primarily provide the execution platform for placing trades, generally at a flat fee per order. This fee is currently ₹20 per order at leading discount brokers such as Angel One Ltd, Billionbrains Garage Ventures Ltd (Groww) and Zerodha. They depend more on brokerage income from futures and options (F&O) than full-service brokerages such as Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, ICICI Securities, Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd and 360 One Wam Ltd.
Note that full-service brokerages provide research services that allow them to earn more brokerage from the cash market than discount brokers, and that most of them also have diversified business models with wealth management and asset management verticals. On 1 February, shares of BSE Ltd, Angel One and Groww plummeted 5-9%, while the Nifty 50 was down 2%, reflecting fears that higher STT would result in less trading activity in the derivatives segment. While it is difficult to estimate the impact on trading activity, the tax hike is substantial.
STT on futures has been increased from 0.02% of futures sales turnover to 0.05%, and from 0.10% to 0.15% on the premium value of options. Put simply, a trader will have to shell out ₹5,000 (up from ₹2,000 earlier) to sell futures worth ₹1 crore. While STT is on the value of contract in futures, it applies only to the
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