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Informist, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025

 

By Simran Rede

 

MUMBAI – India's headline indices surged Monday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday said the government is reviewing the indirect tax regime and next generation reforms will be brought by Diwali. He said tax on regular-use items will be brought down significantly, which will help lower prices of such goods and also help domestic micro, small, and medium enterprises.

 

Automobile stocks helped push the market sharply higher as GST reforms are seen as a major driver for demand for a struggling sector. The Nifty 50 closed at 24876.95, up 245.65 points or 1%. The BSE Sensex ended at 81273.75, up 676.09 points or 0.8%. Automobile and financial services stocks together contributed 0.7% to Nifty 50's rise. Only 11 constituents of the Nifty 50 closed in the negative territory. ITC closed 1.3% lower and was the worst hit. Market volatility cooled down after rising in the initial hour of trade. The India VIX, the market's fear gauge, closed 0.1% lower at 12.3400.

 

The government aims to rationalise the current multi-slab structure into a simpler framework, with two main rates of 5% and 18%, and a higher 40% slab for luxury and sin goods, ICICI Securities said. India's merchandise trade deficit widened to an eight-month high of $27.35 billion in July as imports rose at a quicker pace than exports, according to commerce ministry data released Thursday. The trade deficit was $18.78 billion in June and $24.76 billion a year ago. 

 

Emkay Global Financial Services expects changes in GST rates will lead to a general government revenue loss of around 0.4% of GDP on an annualised basis, with states bearing a disproportionate hit. "Assuming no changes in expenditure, we estimate the Centre's FY26 net fiscal slippage at (around) 0.2% of GDP with lower direct and indirect taxes being offset by revenue buffers in the form of higher dividend and PSU divestment," the brokerage said. Emkay Global has raised its target for the Nifty 50 to 28000 points by September 2026 from the earlier estimate of 26000 points by March 2026 on the back of GST reforms, which are seen as growth-accretive and a major market mover.

 

The broader market indices outperformed the benchmark indices. They closed 1.1-1.5% higher. Small-cap indices rose more than the mid-cap ones. Most sectoral indices ended in the green. Nifty Auto index rose to its highest level of 25281.95 points since October 2024 and closed 4.2% higher at 25127.20 points. If taxes on automobiles are lowered to 18% from 28%, it could boost demand by 15-20%, Nomura Global Markets Research said in a report. Maruti Suzuki India and Hero MotoCorp ended 8.8% and 5.9% higher, respectively, and were the top gainers in the Nifty 50. Hyundai Motor India rose over 8% and was among the biggest gainers in the Nifty 200.

 

Nifty Consumer Durables rose to an over three-week high during the session and closed 3.4% higher. The likely removal of 12% and 28% GST slabs and their consolidation into 5% and 18% will likely help improve demand for consumer and discretionary goods in Oct-Mar, according to analysts. This will likely help clear excess channel inventory of consumer durables companies. Moreover, lower prices will likely boost demand for fast-moving consumer goods products. Nifty FMCG index closed 1.2% higher and was among the top-gaining sectoral indices. 

 

Most financial services stocks soared after S&P Global upgraded the issuer credit rating of seven banks and three financial services companies and on hopes of GST reforms announcement by the government. Nifty Financial Services index closed 1.1% higher. Bajaj Finance was among the top performers in the Nifty 50 constituents.

 

Most information technology stocks fell. Barring Coforge, all nine constituents of the Nifty IT index closed lower. The index closed lower by 0.6%. Nifty Pharma, Nifty Healthcare, Nifty Media, and Nifty IT were the only sectoral indices to end in the red. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals fell 3.5?ter the company reported weak earnings for the June quarter as its diabetes drugs segment underperformed. It was the worst-hit stock in the Nifty 200.

 

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 39 rose and 11 fell 

* Of the Sensex stocks, 22 rose and 8 fell

* On the NSE, 2,012 stocks rose, 1,047 fell, and 88 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 2,562 stocks rose, 1,627 fell, and 176 were unchanged

* Nifty Auto: up 4.2%; Nifty Consumer Durables: up 3.4%; Nifty IT: down 0.6%

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BSE                                               NSE

Sensex: 81273.75, up 676.09 points or 0.8%        Nifty 50: 24876.95, up 245.65 points or 1.0%

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S&P BSE Sensitive Index	Nifty 50
Lifetime High: 85978.25 (Sept. 27, 2024)	: Lifetime High: 26277.35 (Sept. 27, 2024)
Record Close High: 85836.12 (Sept. 26, 2024)	: Record Close High: 26216.05 (Sept. 26, 2024)
2025 1st day close: 78507.41 (Jan. 1)	: 2025 1st day close: 23742.90 (Jan. 1)
2025 Closing High: 84058.90 (Jun. 27)	: 2025 Closing High: 25637.80 (Jun. 27)
2025 Closing Low: 72989.93 (Mar. 4)	: 2025 Closing Low: 22082.65 (Mar. 4)
2025 High (intraday): 84099.53 (Jun. 30)	: 2025 High (intraday): 25669.35 (Jun. 30)
2025 Low (intraday): 71425.01 (Apr. 7)	: 2025 Low (intraday): 21743.65 (Apr. 7)
2024 1st day close: 72271.94 (Jan. 1)	: 2024 1st day close: 21741.90 (Jan. 1)
2024 Closing High: 85836.12 (Sept. 26)	: 2024 Closing High: 26216.05 (Sept. 26)
2024 Closing Low: 70370.55 (Jan. 23)	: 2024 Closing Low: 21238.80 (Jan. 23)
2024 High (intraday): 85978.25 (Sep. 27)	: 2024 High (intraday): 26277.35 (Sept. 27)
2024 Low (intraday): 70001.60 (Jan. 24)	: 2024 Low (intraday): 21137.20 (Jan. 24)
2023 1st day close: 61167.79 (Jan. 2)	: 2023 1st day close: 18197.45 (Jan. 2)
2023 Closing High: 72410.38 (Dec. 28)	: 2023 Closing High: 21778.70 (Dec. 28)
2023 Closing Low: 59288.35 (Feb. 27)	: 2023 Closing Low: 17311.80 (Oct. 17)
2023 High (intraday): 72484.34 (Dec. 28)	: 2023 High (intraday): 21801.45 (Dec. 28)
2023 Low (intraday): 58699.20 (Jan. 30)	: 2023 Low (intraday): 17098.55 (Jan. 17)
2022 1st day close: 59183.22 (Jan. 3)	: 2022 1st day close: 17625.70 (Jan. 3)
2022 Closing High: 63284.19 (Dec. 1)	: 2022 Closing High: 18812.50 (Dec. 1)
2022 Closing Low: 51360.42 (Jun. 17)	: 2022 Closing Low: 15293.50 (Jun. 17)
2022 High (intraday): 63583.07 (Dec. 1)	: 2022 High (intraday): 18887.60 (Dec. 1)
2022 Low (intraday): 50921.22 (Jun. 17)	: 2022 Low (intraday): 15183.40 (Jun. 17)
2021 Closing High: 61305.95 (Oct. 14)	: 2021 Closing High: 18338.55 (Oct. 14)
2021 Closing Low: 46285.77 (Jan. 29)	: 2021 Closing Low: 13634.60 (Jan. 29)
2021 High (intraday): 61353.25 (Oct. 14)	: 2021 High (intraday): 18350.75 (Oct. 14)
2021 Low (intraday): 46160.46 (Jan. 29)	: 2021 Low (intraday): 13596.75 (Jan. 29)
2020 Closing High: 47751.33 (Dec. 31)	: 2020 Closing High: 13981.95 (Dec. 30)
2020 Closing Low: 25981.24 (Mar. 23)	: 2020 Closing Low: 7610.25 (Mar. 23)
2020 High (intraday): 47896.97 (Dec. 31)	: 2020 High (intraday): 14024.85 (Dec. 31)
2020 Low (intraday): 25638.90 (Mar. 24)	: 2020 Low (intraday): 7511.10 (Mar. 24)
2019 High (intraday): 41809.96 (Dec. 20)	: 2019 High (intraday): 12293.90 (Dec. 20)
2019 Low (intraday): 35287.16 (Feb. 19)	: 2019 Low (intraday): 10583.65 (Jan. 29)
2018 High (intraday): 38938.91(Aug. 28))	: 2018 High(intraday): 11760.20 (Aug. 28)
2018 Low (intraday): 32483.8 (Mar. 23)	: 2018 Low (intraday): 9951.9 (Mar. 23)
2017 High (intraday): 34005.37 (Dec. 26)	: 2017 High(intraday): 10515.10 (Dec. 26)

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End

 

Edited by Ashish Shirke

 

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