Stock market ends volatile session slightly lower ahead of GST Council meet

Indian equity benchmarks closed lower following a turbulent trading session on Tuesday. Early optimism fueled by GST reduction hopes and positive developments from the SCO summit initially lifted markets, though gains were erased by profit-booking as investors turned cautious ahead of key events.

The Sensex settled at 80,157.88, declining 206.61 points (0.26%), after opening higher at 80,520.09. The index climbed to an intraday peak of 80,761.14 before reversing gains. Similarly, the Nifty 50 closed at 24,569.60, down 45.45 points (0.18%).

“Early market strength driven by robust macro data faded as banking stocks dragged indices lower ahead of the GST Council meeting and derivatives expiry,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments. “Sugar stocks surged on relaxed ethanol policies, while export-focused firms benefited from renewed global trade optimism.”

Key gainers included Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints, Kotak Bank, Tata Motors, Trent, Ultratech Cement, L&T, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, and Axis Bank. PowerGrid, NTPC, Tata Steel, Hindustan Unilever, BEL, Bajaj FinServ, Eternal, and ITC also closed in positive territory.

Sectorally, Nifty Auto dipped 0.29%, Nifty Bank fell 0.63%, and Nifty Financial Services declined 0.66%. The FMCG sector outperformed with a 1.12% gain, while IT stocks ended flat.

Broader markets displayed resilience: the Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.27%, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 advanced 0.53%.

The rupee edged higher to 83.16 (up 0.05%) amid optimism around potential GST revisions boosting consumption. “However, sustained dollar strength at 98.30 and elevated crude prices near $65.95 limit the rupee’s upside,” noted Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities. “Foreign institutional selling persists, suggesting rupee volatility within 87.85–88.40 near-term.”