Markets Open Flat As Investors Await GST Council Decision

Indian equity markets opened on a cautious note on Wednesday, reflecting weak global cues as investors focused on the outcome of the ongoing two-day GST Council meeting on tax revisions.

At 9:29 AM, the Sensex inched up 32 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 80,190, while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 2 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 24,582.

Broader market indices also registered marginal gains, with the Nifty Midcap 100 advancing 0.27 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 rising 0.36 per cent.

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty Metal led the pack with a gain of 1.64 per cent, followed by Nifty Oil & Gas, which rose 0.77 per cent. Nifty PSU Bank moved up 0.69 per cent, while Nifty Pharma was marginally higher by 0.12 per cent.

Top Movers & Market Outlook

Tata Steel and Hindalco emerged as the top gainers in the Nifty basket, climbing 2.22 per cent and 1.53 per cent, respectively. Other notable performers included ONGC, Axis Bank and TCS.

On the downside, Hero Motocorp, Tata Consumer Products, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank and SBI Life Insurance faced selling pressure.

Analysts suggested that Nifty remains strong above the 24,400 support zone, with immediate resistance near 24,800 and a key psychological hurdle at 25,000.

“The index is consolidating within a broad range, which signals a healthy pause after the recent rally,” noted Mandar Bhojane of Choice Broking.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, added that global trade tensions and tariffs could fuel volatility. However, he highlighted that India’s Q1 GDP growth of 7.8 percentage points to resilient economic momentum, further boosted by potential GST reforms.

Asian markets remained largely in the red, with China’s Shanghai Composite down 1 per cent, Shenzhen lower by 0.67 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei falling 0.29 per cent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipping 0.40 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi, however, gained 0.38 per cent.

On Wall Street, all three major US indices ended lower overnight. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors turned net buyers on Tuesday, purchasing equities worth ₹512 crore, while domestic institutional investors added ₹2,118 crore to Indian shares.

Also Read: Sensex & Nifty Open Slightly Higher Ahead Of Crucial GST Council Meeting