BSE, Angel One shares recover after Sunday's sell-off; Groww continues underperformance

By Admin

03 Feb, 2026

Introduction
Shares of key capital market players saw a volatile start to trading on Monday, February 2, following the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) hike announced in Budget 2026 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. While stocks like Bombay Stock Exchange and Angel One showed signs of recovery after sharp losses on Sunday, Billionbrains Garage Ventures Ltd. (Groww) continued to underperform amid concerns over the impact of higher STT on derivatives trading volumes.

Market Reaction to STT Hike
The Union Budget raised STT on futures to 0.05% from 0.02% and on options to 0.15% from 0.1%. This surprise move triggered heavy selling across capital market stocks on Sunday. BSE shares plunged as much as 15% intraday before closing 8% lower. Angel One declined around 9%, while Groww slipped close to 6%.

On Monday, sentiment improved marginally. BSE shares rebounded and were up nearly 4% during the session after falling earlier, while Angel One gained about 2.5%. In contrast, Groww continued to face selling pressure, trading over 3% lower.

Brokerage Views and Volume Impact
Global brokerage Jefferies described the STT hike as a “sentimental negative” for capital market companies. Based on industry discussions, it expects a volume impact of up to 5%, translating into a potential 4% hit to earnings due to lower Average Daily Turnover (ADTO) for platforms like BSE and Groww.

Similarly, Bernstein highlighted that higher STT could hurt the profitability of high-frequency trading (HFT) firms. Since HFTs form a key client segment for Nuvama Wealth, any reduction in their profit spreads could shrink the overall market profit pool. Bernstein added that market-neutral HFT strategies are likely to be more impacted than directional traders.

Institutional Perspective on STT Changes
According to Kotak Institutional Equities, the sharp hike in STT on the futures and options segment came as a surprise. While the brokerage believes the options STT hike may not significantly impact volumes due to accessibility-driven participation, it termed the futures STT increase as “a bit unreasonable” given the high level of institutional involvement.

Kotak added that lowering STT on cash equities would have been a more effective way to address the disproportionate dominance of F&O volumes. For retail brokers, the firm advised waiting for clearer trends, especially after a strong January and amid changing commodity prices and margin funding (MTF) trends.

Company-Specific Impact
Citi noted that Angel One and Groww have a higher dependence on F&O revenues, which could put marginal pressure on their topline. For other capital market players, including Nuvama, the impact is expected to be limited.

Trading data also reflected heightened activity. BSE saw shares worth over ₹4,000 crore traded on Sunday, while Groww recorded turnover close to ₹1,500 crore, highlighting the scale of investor reaction to the policy change.

Current Stock Performance
As trading progressed, BSE shares attempted to recover from intraday lows and were last seen trading marginally lower at ₹2,567. Groww shares remained under pressure, down about 2.5% at ₹164. Angel One was also slightly lower, trading around 1.2% down in early deals.

Conclusion
The STT hike has clearly altered near-term sentiment for capital market stocks, triggering sharp volatility. While BSE and Angel One have shown resilience with partial recoveries, Groww continues to lag due to its higher exposure to derivatives trading. Going forward, market participants will closely watch how volumes adjust in the F&O segment and whether the impact on earnings remains contained or deepens in the coming quarters.