What Boosted the Stock Market Today? Auto Stocks Lead the Charge!

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- The Indian stock market opened higher on Monday thanks to GST reforms.
- The Nifty Auto sector led the gains, rising 1.52 percent.
- Key support levels are crucial for further upward movement.
- Ongoing US-India trade tensions may impact market sentiment.
- Domestic investors remain active despite foreign outflows.
Mumbai, Sep 8 (NationPress) The Indian benchmark indices kicked off the day with gains on Monday, driven by the GST booster, amidst ongoing tariff-related uncertainties between India and the US.
As of 9:35 am, the Sensex rose by 280 points, translating to a 0.35 percent increase, reaching 80,991, while the Nifty climbed 84 points or 0.34 percent, landing at 24,825. The broadcap indices also showed positive movement, with the Nifty Midcap 100 up by 0.77 percent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining 0.72 percent.
Among various sectoral indices, the Nifty Auto emerged as the top performer, surging by 1.52 percent, followed closely by Nifty Metal and Nifty Realty. Key gainers in the Nifty pack included Tata Steel (up 2.57 percent), Tata Motors, NTPC, Hindalco, and SBI. Conversely, SBI Life Insurance, Asian Paints, Dr Reddys Labs, Titan Company, and Trent faced losses.
Experts noted that technically, the Nifty displayed resilience following last week's sharp midweek sell-off, rebounding robustly from the 100-day EMA near 24,633. A hammer candlestick pattern on the daily chart suggests a strong buying interest at lower levels.
The GST Council has significantly reduced rates across various sectors, including insurance, medicines, and daily essentials, offering crucial relief to households, farmers, and businesses.
"Crucial support is positioned around 24,600 to 24,280, where the 100-day and 200-day EMAs converge. A decisive close above the 25,000 threshold will be vital to confirm the next leg of upward movement, potentially paving the way towards the 25,500 to 25,675 supply zone," stated Amruta Shinde from Choice Broking.
Analysts have indicated that the prevailing uncertainty regarding US-India trade relations will likely continue to impact market sentiment.
Nevertheless, recent comments from US President Donald Trump regarding the "special ties between the US and India" hint at a potential improvement in their historically strained relationship.
"There are rumors of possible restrictions on India's IT exports, even though reciprocal tariffs have yet to affect service trade. These concerns are likely to continue influencing the market, which received a temporary boost from the GST reforms. The excitement from these reforms was short-lived as the market had already partially anticipated the rate cuts," remarked Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited.
The US markets concluded last Friday on a down note, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling by 0.48 percent, the Nasdaq dipping by 0.03 percent, and the S&P 500 decreasing by 0.32 percent.
Asian markets displayed mixed trends, with China's Shanghai index rising by 0.16 percent and Shenzhen inching up by 0.18 percent. Japan's Nikkei climbed 1.42 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.36 percent. South Korea's Kospi also recorded a 0.2 percent increase.
On Friday, foreign investors (FIIs/FPIs) turned net sellers, with outflows amounting to ₹1,304 crore from Indian equities, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net purchased shares worth ₹1,821 crore.