Tax breaks and rural triggers may keep consumer stocks in play

While the Budget for FY25 ticked most of the right boxes, especially on the macro front, negative surprises in the form of higher tax incidence on financial assets and the withdrawal of indexation benefits on real estate led to a selloff initially.

- RAM PRASAD SAHU

The Nifty 50 dropped as much as 1.75 per cent before recovering to end almost flat over Monday's close.

Unlike the interim Budget earlier this year, which focused on the infrastructure segment, the focus of the full Budget was on creating jobs, skilling and tax incentives for the middle-class.

For the urban consumer, higher standard deductions, increased deductions for family pensions and changes in slab rates would result in savings of ₹17,500 under the new tax regime. This will result in higher incomes, spurring consumption.

These measures as well as status quo on cigarette taxes reflected on the Nifty FMCG index, which gained 2.7 per cent.

While ITC was the top gainer with a 5.5 per cent rise in its stock price, the other gainers were Godrej Consumer Products, Dabur India, and Tata Consumer Products.