Domestic share markets started the week on a strong note, with the BSE Sensex posting a fresh all-time closing high. The BSE benchmark index Sensex gained 222 points, or 0.61 per cent, to settle at 36,718 while the NSE Nifty ended at 11,084, up 74 points or 0.68 per cent – its highest close since January 29. During the session, the Sensex registered a fresh all-time high of 36,749, surpassing the last all-time intraday high of 36,747 recorded on July 18. Consumer stocks such as heavyweight ITC led the gains, days after the GST Council reduced tax rates on several items while keeping the cess on cigarettes unchanged. Other top gainers on the 50-scrip index were UPL, Vedanta, Bajaj Finserv and Adani Ports, finishing the session with gains between 3.6 per cent and 15.5 per cent. Hindustan Unilever closed 1.9 per cent higher.
Here are 10 things to know about Monday’s trading session:
- The latest move by the GST Council will lead to lower taxes on more than 100 items, such as paints, leather goods, televisions, washing machines, refrigerators. The revised tax rates will come into effect from July 27. The relief for consumers in the form of lower taxes under GST supported investor sentiment, say analysts.
- The Nifty FMCG index, the NSE’s sectoral index comprising consumer goods stocks, rose 2.5 per cent. Besides ITC and HUL, Godrej Industries, Tata Global, Emami and Britannia finished the day with gains of around 1-2 per cent each. Asian Paints and Akzo Nobel finished 2.7 and 1.5 per cent higher respectively. The GST Council moved paints and varnishes from the 28 per cent tax slab to 18 per cent.
- AK Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital, attributed the advances in the markets to the winning of no-confidence motion by the government and the latest action by the GST Council.
- The government won the no-confidence vote in Parliament on Friday.
- “The winning of no-confidence motion gives the government a very good grip on its chances in 2019 and takes out uncertainty,” he said.
- Footwear retailer Bata India last Friday reported a 37 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit to Rs. 82.6 crore over sales of Rs. 797.3 crore for the April-June period. The company, however, said the results were not comparable to the previous period because of introduction of GST from July 2017. Bata India shares ended around 7.5 per cent higher on Monday.
- Bank of Baroda rose 5 per cent, PNB 4 per cent, Carara Bank 3.8 per cent, leading the pack of state-run banking stocks on the NSE. SBI rose nearly 2 per cent.
- Other prominent gainers included metal stocks. Vedanta, Hindustan Copper, Tata Steel and Jindal Steel – surging between 2 per cent and 4 per cent each – pushed the Nifty Metal index 1.5 higher.
- UPL gained after the agrochemicals company said on Friday that it would buy a unit of Platform Specialty Products, Arysta LifeScience, for $4.2 billion.
- Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net purchased shares worth Rs.310.27 crore while domestic institutional investors net sold equities to the tune of Rs. 50.73 crore on Friday, according to provisional data from the NSE.
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