Sensex ends flat on Friday after hitting record high on GST rates, up 1% for the week


Benchmark indices scuttled between gains and losses to finally settle the day marginally higher as 2-day GST Council meet ends where rates for various goods and services were decided.

The government today decided that most of the services would be taxed at the rate of 18% under the GST regime. Rates for more than 1,200 items under the GST were announced with products like hair oil, soaps and toothpaste down to 18% from 22-24%.

Earlier in the day, S&P BSE Sensex rose as much as 278 points to reach a fresh high of 30,712, surpassing its previous milestone of 30,691 hit on May 17 as FMCG surged on GST boost. The index has hit a new high for the fourth time in five sessions.

The S&P BSE Sensex settled at 30,465, up 30 points, while the broader Nifty50 ended at 9,427, down 1 point.

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Markets end flat on Friday as investors remain edgy ahead of poll results on Saturday


Benchmark indices settled the day flat and posted small weekly gains as investors stayed cautious ahead of assembly election results. Exit polls declared yesterday showed BJP ahead of other rival parties in all the five states.

Victory for BJP in Uttar Pradesh will boost PM Narendra Modi’s chances of winning the 2019 general election. It would also give the party more number of legislators in the Rajya Sabha where it doesn’t have a majority, improving the government’s chances of passing key reform bills.

The 30-share Sensex ended 17 points higher at 28,946, while the 50-share Nifty settled the day at 8,934, up 7 points.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap was down 0.2%, while BSE Smallcap fell 0.1%.