Have buying and selling volumes dropped after STT hike on F&O? Here is what knowledge reveals
Ashish Nanda of Kotak Securities took to X to share knowledge exhibiting how volumes modified after the STT hike took impact from April 1, 2026 onwards. “March was an distinctive month, however in case you examine April with some other month, volumes don’t look that dangerous,” he wrote.
In response to the info which Nanda sourced from the inventory exchanges BSE and NSE, cumulative volumes for futures and choices trades stood at Rs 2.55 lakh crore in April 2026, and Rs 2.56 lakh crore in Might this 12 months. That is considerably decrease than the F&O trades price Rs 3.10 lakh crore executed in March this 12 months, however kind of at par with the volumes seen in earlier months.
“March was an distinctive month, however in case you examine April with some other month, volumes don’t look that dangerous,” Nanda wrote. “Some softness might be seen in index futures and inventory futures although. April index futures volumes have been decrease than 9 out of 12 earlier months. Inventory futures volumes have been decrease than 6 of earlier 12 months,” he added.
The analyst famous that choices volumes, nonetheless, aren’t exhibiting any signal of softness after the STT hike. “Volumes are greater than 9 out of earlier 12 months each for index and inventory choices. Might is wanting sturdy too,” he mentioned.
After presenting the Union Price range in February this 12 months, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned that the federal government couldn’t stay silent as speculative ‘satta’ in derivatives inflicts heavy losses on small retail traders.
Additionally Learn | F&O satta is extremely dangerous… how can the federal government keep quiet: Nirmala Sitharaman on STT hike
“We’re touching solely the futures and choices section. Nobody has elevated transaction prices elsewhere. Hypothesis, what we name ‘satta’ in Hindi, is extremely dangerous, and many individuals with restricted funds face heavy losses. The nominal enhance in STT is aimed purely at deterring extreme hypothesis. We respect market exercise, however the authorities can not ignore the losses confronted by small traders. This tax is just one ingredient to assist that coverage. How the remainder of the market is regulated is as much as the market regulator,” Sitharaman mentioned in an announcement to the press after her Price range speech.
Saying the modifications in Parliament, the finance minister mentioned, “I suggest to lift the STT on futures to 0.05 % from the current 0.02 %. STT on choices premium and train of choices are each proposed to be raised to 0.15 % from the current charge of 0.1 % and 0.125 %, respectively.”
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