Stock market today: Nifty50 crosses 24,900; BSE Sensex rallies over 900 points – Times of India

Stock market today: Nifty50 and BSE Sensex, the Indian equity benchmark indices, soared in opening trade on Monday on the back of next-generation GST reforms announced by PM Modi during his Independence Day speech, and S&P Global’s credit rating upgrade. While Nifty50 went above 24,900, BSE Sensex was up over 900 points. At 9:17 AM, Nifty50 was trading at 24,932.55, up 201 points or 1.22%. BSE Sensex was at 81,509.99, up 912 points or 1.13%.The top Nifty50 gainers at this hour are Hero Motocorp, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Auto, and M&M. The top losers are HCL Tech, ITC, L&T, Sun Pharma, and Dr Reddys.In the week ahead, investors will focus on domestic high-frequency data, such as HSBC India Manufacturing, Services, and Composite PMIs, to gauge growth momentum.Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited says, “There are strong tailwinds for the market with potential to take it higher. Declarations by the prime minister on the next major reforms in GST by Diwali, is a big positive. The expectation is that most of the goods and services will be in the 5% and 18% tax slabs. Sectors like autos and cement which are presently in the 28% tax slabs are expected to benefit. TVS Motors, Hero, Eicher, M&M and Maruti are likely to respond positively to the news. Insurance companies are also expected to benefit from the GST revision.” “S&P 500 upgrading India’s sovereign credit rating is another major positive. But the market ignored this announcement since the negative news flows are also strong. India-US trade talks are unlikely to happen before the August 27th deadline. The ‘ Trump Sword’ of 50% tariff dangling on India will restrain the market enthusiasm which can be triggered by the positive news mentioned earlier. The outcome of today’s meeting at the White House for finding a solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict will be keenly watched by the market.“The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher after reaching an intraday record on Friday, driven by a rise in UnitedHealth’s shares following Berkshire Hathaway’s increased stake. However, other Wall Street indexes declined due to mixed data affecting the Federal Reserve’s upcoming monetary policy decision. Oil prices decreased on Monday as the US refrained from increasing pressure on Russia to halt the Ukraine conflict by imposing additional measures to disrupt Russian oil exports, following a meeting between the presidents of the two countries on Friday.In Asia, stock markets saw a slight increase on Monday in anticipation of a potentially significant week for US monetary policy. Foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth Rs 1,927 crore on Thursday, whereas domestic institutional investors were net buyers, purchasing shares worth Rs 3,896 crore.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market and other asset classes given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)