GST reforms booster: Sensex surges 676 points, Nifty gains 245 points

Mumbai, Aug 18 The Indian stock market ended the session in green on Monday after heavy buying in auto, banking and consumer durable stocks, amid the positive sentiment around upcoming GST reforms.

Sensex closed at 81,273.75, up 676.09 points or 0.84 per cent. The 30-share index opened the session with a huge gap-up at 81,315.79 against last session's closing of 80,597.66. Buoyed by overall buying post the GST reform announcement, the index touched an intraday high at 81,765.77.

Nifty settled at 24,876.95, up 245.65 points or 1.0 per cent.

"The proposed rationalisation of GST is a sentiment booster for the domestic market. Additionally, the recent conclusion of the US and Russia summit, without any escalation in geopolitical tensions, has helped ease investor anxiety," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.

The automobile sector outperformed, emerging as a key beneficiary of the anticipated tax reforms. In H2 FY26, we expect the consumption-led sectors to show some traction on account of demand revival, he added.

Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Finance, Ultratech Cement, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra and Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Trent, Asian Paint, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Axis Bank and Bharti Airtel were among the top gainers from the Sensex basket., while ITC, Eternal, Tech Mahindra, L&T, NTPC, and Infosys were the top losers.

Nifty Auto led the sectoral rally, surging 1,008 points or 4.18 per cent as the majority of sectoral indices settled the session with a decent gain. Nifty Bank surged 393 points or 0.71 per cent, Nifty Fin Services rose 275 points or 1.05 per cent, and Nifty FMCG ended the session 647 points or 1.19 per cent high. Nifty IT settled in negative territory.

Broader indices followed suit as well. Nifty Next 50 rallied 888 points or 1.34 per cent, Nifty 100 soared 266 points or 1.05 per cent, Nifty Midcap 100 jumped 608 points or 1.08 per cent, and Nifty Small Cap 100 closed 242 points or 1.38 per cent higher.

Meanwhile, rupee gained 0.24 paise to close at 87.31.

"The GST reform move comes as policymakers look to cushion the economy amid lingering pressure on exports from US tariff issues. Rupee range can be seen between 87.00- 87.75," said Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities.

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