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Benchmarks trade firm after gap-up opening amid proposed GST reforms
Aug-18-2025

Indian equity benchmarks made a gap-up opening on Monday and are trading firm in early deals after S&P Global Ratings upgraded India's sovereign ratings and Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised next generational GST reforms by Diwali, which will bring down the tax burden on consumers as well as MSMEs. Some support also came as RBI’s data showed that India's forex reserves surged by $4.74 billion to $693.62 billion for the week ended August 8, 2025. Traders took note of report that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has held productive discussions with South Korean Foreign Minister, Cho Hyun, on advancing bilateral cooperation in trade, manufacturing, maritime and people-to-people exchanges as well as new opportunities in AI, semiconductors, clean energy and defence.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly higher amid expectations of the three-year-plus war between Russia and Ukraine ending soon, with U.S. President Donald Trump saying he and Russian President Putin discussed land transfers and security guarantees for Ukraine, and had ‘largely agreed’. Back home, auto stocks were buzzing amid expectations that the government will reduce GST on cars and two-wheelers from 28 percent to 18 percent.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81755.58, up by 1157.92 points or 1.44% after trading in a range of 81315.79 and 81760.67. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.30%, while Small cap index was up by 1.07%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 4.38%, Consumer Discretionary up by 2.83%, Consumer Durables up by 2.53%, Realty up by 2.21% and Basic Materials up by 1.94%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.02% was the sole losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 7.27%, Bajaj Finance up by 6.00%, Ultratech Cement up by 4.86%, Bajaj Finserv up by 4.62% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 4.54%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.66%, Sun Pharma down by 0.40%, ITC down by 0.39%, HCL Technologies down by 0.19% and Infosys down by 0.02% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry has said that the sovereign rating upgrade by S&P on August 14 is a significant affirmation of India's economic trajectory and prudent fiscal management. It added this marks the country's first sovereign upgrade by S&P in 18 years, the previous one being in 2007 when India was elevated to investment grade at BBB-. In May 2024, the agency revised its outlook on India from 'Stable' to 'Positive'. 

The global rating agency S&P upgraded India's sovereign credit rating to 'BBB' with a stable outlook, citing robust economic growth, political commitment for fiscal consolidation and 'conducive' monetary policy to check inflation. As per S&P's India sovereign rating review published, the upgrade reflects a combination of key factors, including India's buoyant and dynamic economic growth, the government's sustained commitment to fiscal consolidation, improved quality of public spending, particularly on capex and infrastructure, and strong corporate, financial, and external balance sheets.

The ministry said credible inflation management and increasing policy predictability have also played a central role. Citing the rating agency, it said monetary policy reforms, particularly the adoption of an inflation-targeting regime, have anchored inflation expectations more effectively. It added S&P has also recognised that despite global headwinds and price shocks, India has demonstrated resilience by maintaining overall price stability. Monetary improvements, combined with the ongoing development of deep domestic capital markets, have created a more stable and supportive environment for the overall economic scenario.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25016.90, up by 385.60 points or 1.57% after trading in a range of 24884.30 and 25019.05. There were 45 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 8.58%, Maruti Suzuki up by 7.13%, Bajaj Finance up by 6.05%, Nestle up by 4.85% and Bajaj Auto up by 4.83%. On the flip side, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.54%, ITC down by 0.41%, Sun Pharma down by 0.38%, ONGC down by 0.27% and HCL Technologies down by 0.24% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 351.69 points or 0.81% to 43,730.00, Hang Seng jumped 106.93 points or 0.42% to 25,377.00, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 102.59 points or 0.42% to 24,437.07 and Shanghai Composite added 43.73 points or 1.18% to 3,740.50. On the other hand, KOSPI dropped 37.66 points or 1.17% to 3,188.00 and Straits Times fell 33.28 points or 0.79% to 4,197.25.
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