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Informist, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Equity Alert: Indices surge amid proposed GST reforms; Nifty Auto rises 4%

MUMBAI--0934 IST--Benchmark indices opened sharply higher Monday following reports of the government planning reforms in goods and services tax and bringing most goods under two GST rates of 5% and 18%. Additionally, India's rating upgrade by S&P Global Ratings kept the sentiment positive. Index heavyweights such as HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank contributed around 0.2% to the Nifty 50's rise.

At 0931 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 24981.35, up 350.05 points or 1.4% and the BSE Sensex was at 81659.89, up 1062.23 points or 1.3%. Volatility in the market rose sharply, with India VIX, the market's fear gauge, at 12.7400, up 3.1%. Broader market indices also surged in early trade, with the small-cap indices being 0.7-0.8% higher and the mid-cap indices up 1.1-1.2%.

Most sectoral indices were in the green with Nifty Auto rising 4% to its highest level since October 2024. The Nifty Consumer Durables Nifty consumer durables was up over 3%. Most automobile and consumer durables stocks pushed the market higher. Emkay Global Financial Services sees the automobile, durables, and cement sectors benefiting from the reforms in GST rate slabs.

Most information technology stocks traded lower. In the Nifty 50, HCL Technologies, Larsen & Toubro, and ITC were down 0.4-0.8% – the worst hit. Nifty Pharma and Nifty Healthcare were also down over 0.2% each. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries were among the worst hit in the Nifty 50, down 0.3% each.  

US President Donald Trump on Saturday hinted that the US may hold back additional secondary tariffs on India, which was due to its purchase of Russian crude oil. The Brent crude October futures contract remained below the $70-per-barrel mark, for the 11th session, from $80 per barrel hit in April. At 0933 IST, the Brent crude contract traded on the Intercontinental Exchange was marginally down at $65.83 per barrel.  (Simran Rede)

Equity Alert: Nifty 50 seen sharply higher Mon on reports of GST reforms

MUMBAI--0810 IST--Benchmark indices are likely to open sharply higher amid reports of the government planning to bring most goods under two GST rates of 5% and 18%. The government has given a recommendation to the GST Council to do away with the 12% and the 28% tax slabs, a senior government source had told Informist Friday. It has also proposed a 40% tax on a few sin goods.

The GIFT Nifty suggests a sharp rise in the Nifty 50 on Monday. At 0754 IST, the August contract of the GIFT Nifty traded at 24926 points, up 1.3% from its previous close. Last week, the Nifty 50 ended at 24631.30 points.

Emkay Global Financial Services has raised its target for the Nifty 50 after media reports on GST rates. It raised the Nifty 50 target to 28000 points for September 2026, from its earlier target of 26000 points for March.   

"India's GST rationalisation is growth-accretive, big-ticket reform. We see this as a major market mover...," Emkay's head of reserach and Strategist Seshadri Sen said in a note. "...this speeds up formalisation of the economy and improves competitiveness of Indian companies." Sen said the lower GST rates would boost consumption and sees it positive for automobile, air conditioners, and the cement sector.

Cues from global markets were mixed Monday. Most Asian markets were higher wth indices in Hong Kong, Japan, China up 0.3-0.8%. US markets were muted Friday with S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite slightly down and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending slightly higher.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Alaska, which was seen as an effort to push Russia to make a deal with Ukraine. However, both leaders did not reach a deal over the war between Russia and Ukraine. However, Putin did say they had come to "an understanding", The Hindu reported.  (Anshul Choudhary)

Equity Alert: Most Asian indices up as crude falls; Japan mkt at record high

MUMBAI--0808 IST--Most Asian indices were higher in early trade Monday, buyoed by lower oil prices as fears of risks to Russian oil supplies eased on hopes of a truce between Russia and Ukraine. Japan's Topix and Nikkei 225 notched fresh record highs early in the session.

US President Donald Trump will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders Monday to discuss the truce terms, having met Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday. 

Japan's Topix and Nikkei 225 were up 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively, with Uniqlo-brand owner Fast Retailing leading the gains. However, technology heavyweights weighed on the Nikkei, with SoftBank Group and Sony Group falling 0.4% each. However, South Korea's Kospi was down 1.2% and was the worst hit in the region. KB Financial Group, Hana Financial Group, and HD Hyundai Electric fell 3-4%. 

Singapore's FTSE Singapore Straits Times was down 0.5%. The country's non-oil domestic exports fell 4.6% on year in July, worse than the 1.8% fall expected by Reuters. The June reading was upwardly revised to a 12.9% rise.

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0804 IST:

(Arya S. Biju)

Equity Alert: US mkt soft on mixed econ data; Dow Jones hits record high

MUMBAI--0739 IST--US equity indices ended the week on a muted note Friday with the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 ending slightly lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed a tad higher after hitting a record high intraday. Mixed economic data added uncertainty about the US Federal Reserve's next rate decision in September. Investors also assessed a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin with hops of a resolution to the ongoing conflict in Russia.

UnitedHealth Group surged 12% after Berkshire Hathaway bought 5 million shares in the company, providing hope of a turnaround of the insurer that is struggling amid rising healthcare costs and changes to government reimbursement plans, Reuters reported. Intel rose 3% after a report said the Trump administration was in talks for the US government to potentially buy stake in the chipmaker. Bank of America ended 2% lower after Berkshire Hathaway reduced its stake in the second-biggest US lender by 4.2% to around 8%. 

Economic data of the day was mixed, with retail sales rising as expected in July, but consumer sentiment weakened in August. Retail sales rose 0.5% in July, matching the Reuters estimate. The figure for June was upwardly revised to a 0.9% rise from 0.5%. However, the Consumer Sentiment index fell to 58.6 in August from 61.7 in July, lower than the Reuters estimate of 62. Hopes of a rate cut by the Fed were dented after the mixed data, with the CME Fedwatch tool showing an 84.6% probability of a 25 bps rate cut in September compared to the 85.4% probability a day ago. 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Friday:

(Akash Mandal)

US$1 = INR 87.46

End

Edited by Vandana Hingorani

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

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