Sharp rally in stock market makes investors richer by Rs 6.17 lakh cr

New Delhi, Aug 18 (PTI) Investors' wealth surged by Rs 6.17 lakh crore on Monday, helped by a sharp rally in the equity market where the BSE Sensex jumped 676 points, buoyed by plans for big bang reforms in the GST regime by Diwali.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 676.09 points or 0.84 per cent to settle at 81,273.75. During the day, it zoomed by 1,168.11 points or 1.44 per cent to 81,765.77.

Tracking the rally in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms jumped by Rs 6,17,875.19 crore to Rs 4,50,96,486.46 crore (USD 5.16 trillion).

The Centre has proposed a 2-tier GST structure of 5 per cent and 18 per cent, besides a 40 per cent special rate on a select few items to the GoM on GST rate rationalisation.

The proposal, which entails removing the current 12 per cent and 28 per cent tax slabs, will be discussed at the 2-day meeting of the state ministerial panel on August 20 and 21 in the national capital, sources said.

"The proposed rationalisation of GST is a sentiment booster for the domestic market," Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Among Sensex firms, Maruti zoomed the most by 8.94 per cent. Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever and Trent were among other major gainers from the pack.

However, ITC, Larsen & Toubro, Eternal and Tech Mahindra were among the laggards.

Auto stocks were in high demand, with Hyundai Motor India jumping 8.45 per cent. The BSE auto index jumped 4.26 per cent to 56,233.33.

"The positive sentiment was driven by GST reform proposals, easing concerns over crude oil prices, and a sovereign rating upgrade, which together lifted investor confidence," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research at Religare Broking Ltd, said.

The BSE smallcap gauge jumped 1.39 per cent while midcap index climbed 1 per cent.

Among BSE sectoral indices, auto surged 4.26 per cent, consumer durables (3.08 per cent), consumer discretionary (2.74 per cent), realty (2.19 per cent), commodities (1.96 per cent), metal (1.95 per cent) and services (1.30 per cent).

IT, power, teck and BSE Focused IT were the laggards.

As many as 2,560 stocks advanced while 1,629 declined and 176 remained unchanged on the BSE. PTI SUM SUM SHW SHW