The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex on Monday climbed 106.05 points to end at 30,570.97, while the National Stock Exchange Nifty soared 10.35 points to settle at 9,438.25. However, the overall market breadth was negative. As many as 903 shares advanced, as 1,852 shares declined and 161 shares remained unchanged.
During the early trading session in the day, the Sensex rose over 200 points then fell over 50 points at 2.25 pm. On Friday, the Sensex had closed at 30,464.92, up by 30.13 points, while the Nifty50 ended the day at 9,427.90, down by 1.55 points.
Market sentiments got a boost on Monday following the government’s move to finalise rates for the upcoming Goods and Services Tax. “Consumer stocks are gaining on the back of GST tax rates, which have been broadly in favour of FMCG stocks,” Dharmesh Kant, head of retail research at Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd told Reuters. Nifty FMCG was the top performer led, by United Spirits (+8%), ITC (+5%) and HUL (+0.8%). Sectors like FMCG, consumer durables and capital goods stocks helped push the market up the ladder, reported Mint.
ITC hit a new high of Rs 303 on Monday and was leading on both Sensex and Nifty. However, S&P BSE Midcap and S&P BSE Smallcap indices slipped in the red to trade close to 1% lower.
Larsen and Toubro (+1.8%) and Tata Motors (+1.65%) also gained on the Sensex, while stocks of BHEL and Reliance Defence Engineering were up by over 2%. This was on the back of reports suggesting that the defence ministry had almost finalised a policy under which private firms will be brought in to build submarines and fighter jets in India.
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