MUMBAI: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rallied sharply in early trade on Thursday after the GST Council approved a complete overhaul of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, boosting investor sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex soared 888.96 points to 81,456.67, while the NSE Nifty climbed 265.7 points to 24,980.75 in opening deals.
Under the new GST framework, tax slabs have been simplified to just two—5% and 18%—effective from September 22, the first day of Navaratri. As a result, common items ranging from roti and paratha to hair oil, ice creams and televisions will become cheaper, while taxes on personal health and life insurance will be reduced to zero.
Among Sensex constituents, Mahindra & Mahindra led the rally, surging over 7.5%. Other major gainers included Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finserv, ITC, Tata Motors and UltraTech Cement. In contrast, Eternal, Tata Steel, NTPC and HCL Tech were among the top losers.
“The revolutionary GST reform has exceeded expectations, benefiting multiple sectors. Ultimately, Indian consumers stand to gain from lower prices, which could significantly boost consumption at a time when the economy is already on a growth path,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. However, he cautioned that tariff-related concerns may resurface after the initial excitement.
In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 were trading higher, while Shanghai’s SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were in the red. US markets had closed mostly higher on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, exchange data showed that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹1,666.46 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought shares worth ₹2,495.33 crore.
On the commodities front, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.56% to $67.22 a barrel.
A day earlier, the Sensex had gained 409.83 points (0.51%) to close at 80,567.71, while the Nifty advanced 135.45 points (0.55%) to settle at 24,715.05.
