Indices open higher on GST rate cut push, SENSEX jumps 586 points, NIFTY50 at 24,875 level; auto and FMCG stocks rally

The Indian stock market opened with major gains on Thursday, September 4, as auto and FMCG stocks rallied after the government’s GST rate cut push.

The GST Council approved an overhaul of rates by limiting slabs to 5% and 18%, effective from September 22, the first day of Navaratri.

Among sectors, except for Nifty Metal (-0.26%) and Nifty Oil and Gas (-0.12%), all the other gauges were trading with gains. Nifty Auto climbed 2.35% in the early session, followed by Nifty FMCG (1.52%) and Nifty Realty (1%).

Mahindra & Mahindra (6.57%), Eicher Motors (2.53%), Balkrishna Industries (2.05%), Tata Motors (1.76%) and TVS Motors (1.68%) led the rally in auto stocks in the opening session.

The broader market was also opened with gains with both Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 rising 0.36% and 0.23%, respectively.

According to exchange data, on Wednesday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹1,666.46 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹2,495.33 crore on a net basis.

On the global front, most of the Asian stocks were trading higher after dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials boosted investors’ sentiment on global growth and a selloff in bond markets.

Japan's Nikkei was up 1.17%, and South Korea's KOSPI rose 0.30%, while the Shanghai Composite also declined 1.97%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was seen 1.26% lower.

The US stocks were also seen to close higher on the Fed’s comment; however, the Dow Jones index slipped.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.06%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.51%, and the Nasdaq Composite gauge gained 1.02%.

As many as 2,637 stocks traded on the NSE during the early session, among which 1,793 advanced, 770 declined, and 74 shares remained unchanged.

This indicates that the market's breadth was favourable towards advances.

Meanwhile, 74 stocks hit their one-year highs in the early trade, while 12 stocks touched their 52-week lows.

Further, 51 stocks hit their upper circuits, while 15 hit their lower circuits.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, was trading at 10.90 levels, losing 0.25%.

Mahindra & Mahindra was the most contributing stock, surging 6.5%, followed by Bajaj Finance (4.42%), Eicher Motors (2.4%), Bajaj Finserv (2.37%) and Nestle India (2.18%).

However, Eternal (-0.58%), Tata Steel (-0.53%), Tata Consumer Products (-0.48%), IndusInd Bank (-0.42%) and Coal India (-0.41%) were the top losing stocks on the 50-share index.