Mumbai: Stock markets saw a big jump on Thursday morning after the GST Council announced a major reform to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped by 888.96 points, reaching 81,456.67, while the 50-share NSE Nifty went up by 265.7 points to 24,980.75.
The GST Council has simplified the tax structure by limiting tax slabs to just 5 percent and 18 percent, starting from September 22, which is also the first day of Navaratri. This move will reduce the prices of many everyday items, giving relief to consumers.
Common Goods to Become Cheaper
Items like roti/paratha, hair oil, ice cream, and even TVs will now cost less. Taxes on personal health and life insurance have been removed completely. This change is expected to boost consumption across the country.
Top Gainers and Losers
Among the top-performing companies on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra, which rose over 7.5 percent, followed by Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finserv, ITC, Tata Motors, and UltraTech Cement.
However, a few companies like Eternal, Tata Steel, NTPC, and HCL Tech saw losses.
Expert Opinion: Boost to Consumption
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said that this GST reform was better than expected and would help many sectors. He added, 'The biggest winner is the Indian consumer who will now pay lower prices. This could push up spending and support further economic growth.'
Global and Domestic Market Trends
In Asia, markets in South Korea and Japan were trading higher, while China and Hong Kong were slightly down.
In the US, markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold shares worth TRs 1,666.46 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,495.33 crore.
Meanwhile, Brent crude oil prices dropped by 0.56 percent to USD 67.22 per barrel.
