September 6, 2025

Mumbai witnessed a roller-coaster ride on the stock market on Thursday! India's top stock indices started strong, lifted by a fresh overhaul of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) announced late Wednesday. This big tax revamp aims to make shopping easier, pump up demand, and protect India's economy from global troubles like US tariffs. Shares of consumer goods companies and automobile makers - the main winners from the GST cuts - soared first but then cooled off as investors hurried to book profits. Friday morning saw a similar drama where early gains vanished. The NSE Nifty 50 dipped 0.03% to 24,724 and the BSE Sensex dropped 0.13% to 80,609 by 10:32 a.m. IST, even though both had climbed about 0.3% earlier in the day. "There was some build-up in parts of the market where people expected positive effects from the GST rationalisation," said Pankaj Pandey, head of retail research at ICICI Direct. But he added, "The market gave up some of the gains as it awaits more visible signs for the demand environment to improve." By the close, Nifty finished up slightly at 24,734.30, a tiny 0.1% rise, and the Sensex ended 0.2% higher at 80,718.01. The Nifty Auto index, which hit a high of 3.7% gain during the day, settled with a 0.9% increase. Meanwhile, the FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) index rose 0.2%, and consumer durables stayed nearly flat. Big winners on Thursday included Mahindra & Mahindra, which jumped a juicy 6%, Bajaj Finance up by 4.1%, and Apollo Hospital, rising 2%. Over the past week, auto and consumer durables stocks climbed over 3%, with FMCG and overall consumption-related shares also rising well. Siddarth Bhamre from Asit C Mehta Intermediates shared a word of caution: "Investors booked profits today because the markets remained in a 'sell on rise' mode. Since the valuations are expensive and the earnings visibility is lower, investors were not too gung-ho." The recent rally was sparked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day announcement about simplifying GST slabs. But as Bhamre explains, "While the rationalisation of GST rates is good for consumption, the demand will move up once there is an uptick in purchasing power, which will take a couple of more quarters." On a wider note, Mid-cap and Small-cap stocks slipped about 0.5% each on Thursday, though they have gained modestly over the week. Out of 4,280 shares traded on BSE, 1,715 rose while 2,421 fell. Experts like Vipin Kumar from Globe Capital Market say the Nifty is hitting a tough wall near 25,000 points with large options trades limiting big jumps. "The index is expected to move in the range of 24,450 to 25,100 levels as a decisive break on either side is imperative for a strong directional move," he said. Lastly, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 106.3 crore on Thursday, while domestic investors bought shares worth Rs 2,233.1 crore. However, in September, global investors have already pulled out Rs 3,610 crore, showing caution on the international stage. So, will the GST overhaul be a magic wand for the markets and economy or just a short-term buzz? Time — and the next few quarters — will spill the beans!

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Tags: Gst overhaul, Stock market, Nifty, Sensex, Consumer stocks, Auto sector,