A blockbuster start to GST brought back stock market optimism on Wednesday as the Sensex surged 258 points and the Nifty closed above 9,800 on improved risk appetite after US President Donald Trump’s measured approach to the Korean flare-up.
Metal and financial stocks turned favourites, in sync with upbeat global indices after lowering of the geo-political temperature. August derivatives contracts are set to expire tomorrow, which prompted liquidation of short positions. The July tax collections so far at Rs 92,283 crore are in excess of the finance ministry's internal estimate of Rs 91,000 crore, finance minister Arun Jaitley said yesterday. The figure is likely to go up further as and when all taxpayers file returns. At the close, the 30-share Sensex read 31,646.46, up 258.07 points -- 0.82 per cent -- as big guns RIl, ITC, HDFC, l&T and HDFC Bank advanced. Investors' wealth rose by Rs 1,54,494 crore.
The 50-share Nifty surpassed the key 9,900-mark during the day, but gave in to pressure to take profit as it settled at 9,884.40, up 88.35 points, or 0.90 per cent. Shortly before the North Korean statement on its latest missile firing, Trump said ‘all options’ were on the table, stopping short of striking a belligerent tone.
“Market recouped from the previous day loss, taking cues from positive global markets due to no further escalation in the geo-political tensions. The domestic market was also filliped by the better than anticipated tax collection under the GST regime,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Reliance Industries showed maximum traction, surging 2.12 per cent to Rs 1,564.15, followed by Adani Ports that rose 1.94 per cent. The Sensex had declined 362.43 points in the previous session Tuesday, in line with a general weakness across the globe sparked by North Korea's missile launch over Japan.