The Indian markets began Monday morning on a positive note. The BSE Sensex started the session above 80k, jumping close to 200 points, while the NSE Nifty50 opened trading just under 24,500, climbing 71 points, as of 9:15 AM.
On the 30-share Sensex, Infosys, PowerGrid, TCS, TechM, and NTPC emerged among the gainers. Meanwhile, the laggards included Reliance, Sun Pharma, HUL, and Maruti.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap Select climbed 0.76 per cent. Sectorally, the IT index soared 1.34 per cent, followed by the Midsmall IT & Telecom index which rose 0.93 per cent.
The GIFT Nifty also gave robust indications for the day ahead, as it inched up 23 points to cross 24,600 on Monday morning around 8:57 AM. In the pre-open session, the Sensex gained nearly 20 points and traded above 79,800, while the Nifty stood at 24,433, rising merely 6 points, as of 9:09 AM.
GST Council, Tariff Developments To Impact Sentiment
Equity markets are set for an event-heavy week, with attention centred on the upcoming GST Council meeting, key macroeconomic indicators, and trading activity of foreign investors, analysts said.
Developments in global tariff negotiations, movement in crude oil prices, rupee-dollar fluctuations, and auto sales figures will likely influence sentiment during the week. India’s GDP for the first quarter stood at 7.8 per cent, the fastest growth seen in five quarters. This data was released after market hours on Friday and is expected to help boost trading in today’s session.
However, concerns over fiscal stress and the recent imposition of US tariffs continue to pose risks. ‘A resolution of tariff disputes could act as a key catalyst for market sentiment,’ noted Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments.
Investors will keep a close watch on the GST Council meeting scheduled for September 3-4, where discussions on proposed reforms are expected to take centre stage.
‘These events are likely to set the near-term tone for risk sentiment,’ said Ajit Mishra, SVP – Research, Religare Broking. Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, added that domestic markets will be particularly sensitive to the GST reform debate.
Previous week’s losses
In the week gone by, the BSE Sensex dropped 1,497.2 points, or 1.84 per cent, while the Nifty shed 443.25 points, or 1.78 per cent. The tariff-related uncertainty was a dominant theme, curbing risk appetite and weighing on overall investor sentiment.