After opening the day lower, benchmark indices remained muted as the session progressed and ended the day lower.

On Tuesday, Indian shares experienced fluctuating movements, alternating between minor gains and losses, coinciding with the presentation of the union budget.

Consumer stocks led the benchmarks higher following the government's announcement of financial assistance for the sector, helping to support overall market sentiment.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 73 points (down 0.1%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 30 points (up 0.1%).

NTPC, ITC, and Titan are among the top gainers today.

L&T, Hindalco, and ONGC on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The GIFT Nifty was trading at 24,450, down by 70 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE MidCap index ended 0.7% lower and the BSE SmallCap index ended 0.2% lower.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed, with stocks in the IT sector, and the FMCG sector witnessing most buying. Meanwhile, stocks in the realty sector and finance sector witnessed selling pressure.

Shares of Colgate, Pfizer, and Britannia hit their respective 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 83.7 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading 6% lower at Rs 68,820 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices were trading 4% lower at Rs 85,401 per 1 kg.
 

Why Dixon Technologies Share Price is Falling

In news from the IT sector, shares of Dixon Technologies (India) Ltd. declined as much as 6% on Tuesday.

This was after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a reduction in customs duty on mobile phones, PCBA, and chargers, slashing the rate to 15%.

Promoters of Dixon held an 18.57% stake in the company as of the June-end quarter. Mutual Funds of India hold a 45.41% stake, with HDFC and Nippon holding close to 5% of the company.

India's largest insurance company, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) also has a 2.74% stake in Dixon.

After an 8% drop in the last month, shares of Dixon have gained 70% so far in 2024.

Dixon has given negative annual returns only twice since its listing - once in 2018, when the stock had halved, and the other in 2022, when it fell by 30%.

Else, the Dixon Technologies stock has risen 84% in 2019, 254% in 2020, and 104% in 2021.

The company is at the forefront of India's electronics revolution.

It's the country's largest home-grown EMS player. It's also the biggest manufacturer of LED TVs in India, producing for the likes of Samsung, Panasonic, Xiaomi, TCL, OnePlus, and many more.

Real Estate Stocks Slump. Here's why

Moving on to news from the real estate sector, real estate stocks fell after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to eliminate the indexation benefit on calculating long-term capital gains tax (LTCG) on real estate.

The Nifty Realty index was down 2.6% in the afternoon trading on 23 July. DLF stock fell more than 6% to the day's low of Rs 778.2 over the Budget 2024 announcement.

The finance minister, in a bid to rationalize the capital gains tax regime, changed the Long Term Capital Gain tax rate to 12.5% across all financial and non-financial assets. This would result in the LTCG tax on property falling from 20 % earlier.

Other realty stocks tanked too. Macrotech Developers was down 3.6%, Godrej Properties was down 5%, Prestige Estates was down 5.3%, and Phoenix Mills was down 2.1%.

The indexation benefit adds the inflation rate to the asset's purchase price.

At the time of the sale of the asset, this means a higher purchase price, resulting in a lower capital gain -- or even zero in some cases, eventually resulting in a tax benefit.

Without indexation, the gain would be calculated on the actual purchase price, potentially resulting in a higher tax outgo.
 

What is the Fuelling Rally in Hero MotoCorp

Moving on to news from the auto sector, shares of Hero Motocorp gained as much as 3% on Tuesday (July 23) after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the budgetary allocation of Rs 2.7 trillion (tn) for rural development including spending on rural infrastructure.

This is positive for the rural economy, and M&M and Hero MotoCorp shares are expected to benefit.

While presenting her seventh Union Budget, FM Sitharaman announced the rural allocation of Rs 2.7 tn, up 12% from FY24 budget estimates.

Sitharaman said that the allocation will also be used for the development of rural infrastructure.

A pick-up in rural consumption or a revival in the rural economy is generally beneficial for two-wheeler manufacturers like Hero and Bajaj Auto as their entry-level bikes would see increased sales via an aspirational middle class.

Hero MotoCorp was an outperformer in June when it came to auto sales. The two-wheeler manufacturer sold 5.03 lakh units last month, showing a growth of 15% from last June.

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