Bulls Push Nifty Higher By 1% On GST Reform Hopes, Sensex Up 676 Points

Bulls ruled the D-Street on August 18 as equities across the board staged a strong rally, powered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of “next-generation” GST reforms in his Independence Day address. The rally was also supported by easing concerns about Russian oil supply since the US did not impose fresh sanctions after the recent ‘no deal’ talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Earlier, Trump had warned of fresh sanctions on Russia if Putin did not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine. Adding to the positive sentiment, leading credit-rating agency S&P Global raised India’s long-term sovereign credit rating to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB-’, helping the rally gain more strength.

The benchmark indices opened sharply higher and traded in a narrow range through the session. The Sensex surged 676.09 points, or 0.84 per cent to end the session at 81,273.75. Likewise, the Nifty 50 climbed 245.65 points, or 1 per cent to settle at 24,876.95.

The broader market indices too reflected the bullish sentiment as the Nifty Midcap 100 rose 1.08 per cent, the Nifty Smallcap 100 gained 1.38 per cent, the Nifty 500 advanced 1.11 per cent, and the Nifty Microcap 250 closed higher by 1.55 per cent.

Auto, Consumer Durables Top Sectoral Gainers

Automobiles and consumer durables were the biggest winners as the expectation of lower GST rates on goods from these consumer-oriented sectors fuelled the rally. Nifty Auto gained 4.18 per cent, led by 8-9 per cent gains in Maruti Suzuki India and Ashok Leyland. Nifty Consumer Durables jumped 3.38 per cent, led by around 8 per cent gains in PG Electroplast and Amber Enterprises, and AC manufacturers like Blue Star and Voltas.

Other sectors like realty, metals, FMCG, and financial services also saw strong gains. Nifty Bank rose 0.71 per cent to close at 55,734.90.

On the other hand, Nifty IT fell 0.57 per cent, Nifty media declined 0.22 per cent, and Nifty Pharma and Nifty Healthcare also saw minor dips.

Nifty 50 Top Gainers And Losers

Among the Nifty 50 constituents, Maruti Suzuki India gained 8.92 per cent, Hero MotoCorp climbed 5.99 per cent, Nestle India rose 5.23 per cent, Bajaj Finance advanced 5.06 per cent and Bajaj Auto rallied 4.61 per cent, emerging as the top gainers of the day. JSW Steel, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), and Hindustan Unilever were also among the top gainers.

On the other hand, ITC, Eternal (formerly Zomato), Tech Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro dragged the most, falling between 1 per cent and 1.5 per cent.

Key Market Cues To Watch Tomorrow

India-US Trade Talks: Market participants will be closely tracking any further development in the India-US trade talks, as the uncertainty due to delay in a final deal is weighing on the sentiment.

Trump-Zelenskyy Meeting: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet US President Trump in Washington today. The talks are expected to focus on a peace deal with Russia. However, according to various media reports, there are concerns that Trump might try to push Ukraine into a settlement that favours Russia.

Ahead of the meeting, crude oil prices rose. The Brent Crude futures surged around 0.50 per cent, as of 5 PM today, to $66.20 per barrel. The WTI Crude futures too rose over 0.52 per cent to $62.30 per barrel. Investors will be tracking oil price movements.

FOMC Minutes: Further, the US Federal Reserve is set to release the minutes of its July 29–30 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, which market participants will closely track for hints on whether the Fed may cut rates in its next policy review.

If the US moves towards a rate cut, it could put pressure on Treasury yields and the US dollar, which in turn could prompt foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to channel their funds into emerging markets like India.