Equity markets staged a robust opening on Thursday, with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty gaining sharply after the GST Council approved a comprehensive overhaul of the Goods and Services Tax structure.
The BSE Sensex jumped 888.96 points in morning trade to reach 81,456.67, while the NSE Nifty rose 265.7 points to 24,980.75. Investor sentiment was boosted by the Council's move to reduce the number of slabs in GST, which is likely to reduce costs on a number of everyday items.
As a part of the makeover, commodities like roti and paratha and items like hair oil, ice cream, and televisions will now be more affordable. Also, the tax load on life and health insurance premiums will be slashed to zero. The new tax slabs will be reduced to a mere 5 percent and 18 percent effective September 22, at the beginning of Navaratri.
Among Sensex stocks, the rally was led by Mahindra & Mahindra, which gained more than 7.5 percent. Other big winners were Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finserv, ITC, Tata Motors, and UltraTech Cement. The losers were stocks like Eternal, Tata Steel, NTPC, and HCL Tech.
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