Indian Markets Open Higher On GST Rate Cuts Despite US Trade Concerns

The Indian benchmark indices began Monday’s session on a positive note, supported by the recent GST rate reductions, even as trade-related tensions with the United States persisted.

At 9:35 AM, the Sensex had climbed 280 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 80,991, while the Nifty rose 84 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 24,825.

Broader indices also advanced, with the Nifty Midcap 100 up 0.77 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining 0.72 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty Auto led the gains with a rise of 1.52 per cent, followed by Nifty Metal and Nifty Realty.

Top Gainers and Losers

Within the Nifty pack, Tata Steel (up 2.57 per cent), Tata Motors, NTPC, Hindalco and SBI were the leading performers, whereas SBI Life Insurance, Asian Paints, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Titan Company and Trent registered losses.

On the technical front, analysts observed that Nifty showed resilience after last week’s sharp midweek decline, rebounding from the 100-day EMA near 24,633.

A hammer candlestick formation on the daily chart indicated fresh buying at lower levels.

The GST Council’s move to reduce rates on insurance, medicines and daily essentials has provided notable relief for households, farmers and industries.

“Key support is placed around 24,600–24,280, where the 100-day and 200-day EMAs converge. A decisive close above the 25,000 mark will be critical to confirm the next leg of upside, potentially opening the path toward the 25,500–25,675 supply zone,” noted Amruta Shinde of Choice Broking.

Despite this, uncertainty over India–US trade relations remains an overhang. US President Donald Trump’s comments on the ‘special US-India ties’ hinted at some improvement, but concerns linger.

“Rumours suggest potential restrictions on India’s IT exports, despite the fact that reciprocal tariffs have not yet affected trade in services. These concerns will continue to influence the market, which got a morale boost from the GST reforms. The euphoria from GST reform was short-lived since the market had already partly discounted the GST rate cuts,” said Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited.

Global Market Cues

Overseas, Wall Street ended Friday lower: the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.48 per cent, the Nasdaq edged down 0.03 per cent, and the S&P 500 slipped 0.32 per cent.

Asian markets traded mixed on Monday.

China’s Shanghai index rose 0.16 per cent, Shenzhen gained 0.18 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei advanced 1.42 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.36 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi increased 0.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs/FPIs) turned net sellers on Friday, offloading Indian equities worth Rs 1,304 crore. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs), however, were net buyers, with inflows of Rs 1,821 crore.

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