BSE waives transaction charges in Sensex stocks

In a bid to woo retail investors to its exchange, the BSE has waived off transaction charges in equity segment of S&P BSE Sensex 30 stocks. From March 12, 2018, anyone trading in the 30 stocks that constitutes the BSE Sensex will not pay any transaction charge to the BSE.

Today, on any stock valued between zero to Rs one lakh the BSE charges Rs 1.5 as transaction charge. The slab comes down as the value of trade increases. For value between Rs one lakh to Rs three lakh, the BSE gets Rs 1.25 per transaction, which falls to one rupee for transaction value between Rs three lakh to Rs five lakh.

Any trade valued between Rs five lakh to Rs 20 lakh is charged 75 paise and for trade value above Rs 20 lakh the BSE charges 50 paise as transaction charge. So, what it means is that today, on a monthly basis, if the trade of an individual in a stock is worth Rs one lakh, he pays Rs 1.5 to the BSE as transaction charge.

While it's not known how much of a loss the exchange will bear following the waiver in transaction charges, the move is aimed to encourage participation by retail investors in financially sound companies. In its press release, the BSE says it believes that this move will help India's growth story as BSE will now be the most preferred exchange for transacting in S&P BSE Sensex 30 stocks, considered to be the growth engine for India.

On Monday, the stock of BSE closed 0.89% higher at 807.90 compared to Friday's closing of Rs 800.80 per share. Last month, BSE had announced a buy-back of share of Rs 166 crore at a price not exceeding over Rs 1,100 per share, 26.5 per cent higher than the current market price.