Mumbai: Stock and bond prices crashed yesterday after P Chidamraram announced the levy of turnover tax. The tax was in Chidambaram''s words,'' a small 0.15 per cent transaction tax on every trade on the stock exchanges.''

Stock indices fell rapidly as selling gathered steam once the finance minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, completed his speech and investors dug into the fineprint of the union budget.

The 30-share BSE Sensex that had gained over 40 points, briefly crossing the 5,000-mark , slid as the minister''s speech progressed and lost 112 points or 2.26 per cent to end the day at 4843.84.

The 50-share S&P CNX Nifty of the NSE closed at 1518.15 or 3.11 per cent lower than its previous close of 1566.80.

In the bond market, securities across maturities fell by about Re 1. The transaction tax will hit bond investors more as margins are too thin.