समाचार Samāchār · Business · 3 November 2026

Sitharaman will “consider” the LTCG case. Markets gain about 5% in four sessions

The Finance Minister recognised the foreign investors’ complaint and promised no cut. On Tuesday the Sensex rose 1,225 points to 76,917.85. Oil, earnings and foreign buying share the credit.

The minister has now spoken. On Monday we reported that Sebi wants long-term capital gains tax removed for foreign portfolio investors. At the Financial Express Leadership Awards on Monday, Nirmala Sitharaman answered the demand. “Today, the circumstances have changed. FII outflows have happened, and voices of concern are louder,” she said, according to IANS. “I will consider all this.” ANI quotes her: “I wouldn’t want to say more at this stage, but I recognise the voice.” That is attention. It is not a commitment. No change has been announced.

She also stated the case against. “The taxation structure was what it is today even in 2023, when inflows were at record highs,” she said. ANI reports she called tax only one factor in drawing foreign money, and said India needs equity capital to sustain growth above 7%. Both points are correct. They also leave the decision open for the Budget.

The market moved anyway. The Sensex closed up 1,225.07 points, or 1.62%, at 76,917.85 on Tuesday. The Nifty 50 gained 370.05 points, or 1.58%, to 23,810.85. It was the fourth straight gain and about 5% in all, which HDFC Sky puts at the highest levels in nearly two months. Nifty FMCG led with 3.65%. Realty and private banks followed. SBI fell 1.70% and PSU banks lost ground. The rupee closed at 94.74 to the dollar from 94.90.

Do not credit tax alone. Brent fell 7.6% on Monday to $104.77 on renewed US-Iran diplomacy. Reliance’s record quarterly profit and the wider earnings season helped. IIFL lists the LTCG talk as one support among these. Foreign investors bought a net ₹3,115 crore on Monday on provisional data. They had sold about $31 billion of Indian shares this year by end-October. A few sessions do not reverse that. Reports of a US strike on Qeshm kept Brent near $105 on Tuesday.

What a founder takes from it: Fiscal discipline and foreign capital now pull against each other, and the Budget has to settle it. A founder should plan on today’s tax until then. Earnings are the one part of this rally a company controls.