Market gains on FMCG, consumption stocks after GST rationalisation

The stock market on Thursday extended the gains on the second day, led by auto, FMCG, and consumption-oriented stocks, after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council announced rate rationalisation. Nifty finished above 24,700.

At close, the Sensex was up 150.30 or 0.19% at 80,718.01 and the Nifty was up 19.25 points or 0.08% at 24,734.30. BSE Midcap and smallcap indices shed 0.6% each.

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The overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms dropped to nearly Rs 451.4 lakh crore from Rs 452.8 lakh crore in the previous session.

Among the sectors, the majority of indices ended with losses due to profit booking. Nifty PSU Bank was down 1.11%, Oil and Gas down by 0.96%, IT down by 0.94%, Realty down by 0.78%, and Metal by 0.62%. Auto index ended with a healthy gain of 0.85%.

Nifty Bank ended flat, while the Financial Services index rose 0.47%.

On Nifty, the top gainers were Mahindra and Mahindra up by 5.90%, Bajaj Finance up 4.10%, and Apollo Hospitals up by 2%.

While 31 stocks ended in the red, with notable names like HDFC Life Insurance Company down by 2.82%, Tata Consumer down by 2.75%, and IndusInd Bank down by 1.71%.

Around 141 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while in contrast, 50 stocks touched 52-week lows.

Those on highs included Cummins India Ltd, Dalmia Bharat Ltd, Eicher Motors Ltd, Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Ltd, India Cements Ltd, Lemon Tree Hotels Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Maharashtra Scooters Ltd, Marico Ltd, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Nuvoco Vistas Corporation Ltd, FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd, and TVS Motor Company Ltd.

On the lows were notable mentions like Gem Aromatics Ltd, GSS Infotech Ltd, Imagicaaworld Entertainment Ltd, Maral Overseas Ltd, Regaal Resources Ltd, Vikram Solar Ltd, Vikran Engineering Ltd, and Vishnu Prakash R Punglia Ltd.

Footwear stocks like Bata India (7%) and Metro Brands (5%) gained sharply after GST on pairs priced up to ₹2,500 was cut to 5% from 12%.

Mahindra & Mahindra rose 6% to close at Rs 3,481 apiece following the GST cut on large cars.

FMCG brands like Colgate-Palmolive, Britannia Industries, Emami, Bikaji Foods International, Nestlé India, and Dabur India, among others, rallied between 1% and 4.5%.

The market’s focus remains on US tariffs and FII outflows, which have led to a recent sell-on-rise trend. The impact of GST cuts will be reflected in earnings only after the third quarter of the current financial year.