Indian equity indices ended with marginal gains on September 4, with Nifty ending at around 24,730. At close, the Sensex was up 150.30 or 0.19 percent at 80,718.01 and the Nifty was up 19.25 points or 0.08 percent at 24,734.30. The stock markets saw strong volatility during the day, after GST Council reduced tax on several items.
2/11
Ola Electric: The shares of Ola Electric Mobility dropped nearly 8% intraday as investors may have resorted to profit booking at elevated levels. This comes after the stock rallied around 77 percent in less than a month. Ola Electric shares hit an intraday low of Rs 63.71 apiece. The stock later recovered some losses. The shares of the Bhavish Aggarwal-led company had earlier seen significant volatility since listing. The shares had debuted flat at the IPO price of Rs 76 apiece in August 2024, but surged significantly on the debut day itself. It rallied as much as 63 percent in nearly a month after debut to hit a 52-week high of Rs 123.9 apiece in September 2024. The stock then plunged 68 percent to hit a low of Rs 39.6 apiece in July this year.
3/11
Solar Industries: The shares of explosives-maker Solar Industries sharply plunged more than 3% intraday, after the company reported an explosion at its Nagpur facility, which killed one and injured eight people. In an exchange filing, the company said that the explosion occurred at 12.33 am in the crystallization building of the factory while performing crystallization process of an energetic material at its premises in Chakdoh, Nagpur. The company informed exchanges that the loss is limited to this building, as far as the financial impact is concerned, and there is adequate insurance coverage for the same.
4/11
IndusInd Bank: IndusInd Bank's former CFO Gobind Jain has urged the Centre to remove Sunil Mehta, the Chairman of the lender's board, alleging his involvement in covering up the accounting discrepancies which the bank had earlier reported, the Economic Times reported. The shares of lender dropped nearly 2%. Jain had resigned as the Chief Financial Officer of IndusInd Bank in January, months before the lender said that it has found some accounting discrepancies in its derivatives portfolio. In August this year, he wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming that he has uncovered serious issues in the treasury operations at the bank which has persisted for more than a decade, the Economic Times reported. In his letter cited by the newspaper, Jain said he was the only executive to detect the lapses and had fought a "lone battle" to highlight them.
Delta Corp: Delta Corp shares plunged nearly 9%. This comes after the GST Council decided to increase the tax levied on admission to casinos, race clubs, any place having casinos or race clubs, or sporting events like the IPL from 28 percent to 40 percent. Delta Corp is India's largest listed casino and gaming company. Hence, the shares of the company tumbled on the GST hike on casinos. The stock has now snapped a two day gaining streak. It earlier sharply fell after government's new online gaming law that has imposed a blanket ban on real-money games.
6/11
Prataap Snacks: The shares of namkeen snacks-makers surged on September 4 after the GST Council decided to cut the tax rate on these items. During its meeting which concluded on September 3, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council reduced the GST rate on pre-packaged and labelled namkeens, bhujia, mixture, chabena and similar edible items from 12 percent to 5 percent. This will likely spur demand, benefitting these companies. Prataap Snacks shares gained more than 3 percent intraday.
7/11
Consumption-oriented stocks, ranging from consumer staples, discretionary and durables saw sharp gains in trade on Thursday, September 4, after the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, heading the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, announced steep cuts in GST rates across several categories. Shares of Emami, Colgate Palmolive and Britannia Industries drove gains on the Nifty FMCG index, rising up to 4%.
8/11
Mahindra & Mahindra: The shares of Indian automakers sharply surged on September 4, after the GST Council approved a slew of reforms to the tax regime. The sharp rise in the share prices pushed the Nifty Auto index up. During its meeting which concluded on September 3, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council reduced the GST rate on all small cars from 28 percent to 18 percent. This includes petrol, LPG or CNG cars with engine capacity up to 1200 cc and length up to 4000 mm, and diesel cars with engine capacity up to 1500 cc and length up to 4000 mm. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) shares gained nearly 6%.
Godfrey Phillips: Tobacco stocks rallied in trade, even though Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that cigarettes, along with paan masala, gutka, and other tobacco products would be levied with a 40 percent Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate. "That special rate of 40 percent has also been proposed, and it's been cleared and will apply only to paan masala, cigarettes, gutka, and other tobacco products such as chewing tobacco, products like zarda, unmanufactured tobacco, and beedi," the finance minister said during the 56th GST Council meeting on September 3. Brokerages believe the move will be either neutral or positive for tobacco companies. Currently, tobacco is currently taxed at 28 percent GST plus cess, which is a mix of specific and ad valorem duties. The combined total of all taxes levied is around 50-55 percent of the MRP. Godfrey Phillips shares closed nearly 3% higher.
10/11
Trent: During its meeting which concluded on September 3, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council reduced the GST rate on apparel priced up to Rs 2,500 to 5 percent. Previously, apparel priced up to Rs 1,000 fell under the 5 percent tax bracket, while those beyond that were charged 12 percent GST. However, the GST rate on apparel and clothing accessories worth more than Rs 2,500 was increased from the current 12 percent to 18 percent. Trent shares jumped more than 3% intraday. The stock has gained nearly 7 percent in the past five days, and over 13 percent in the past six months. Its P/E ratio currently stands at around 127.5.
11/11
Poly Medicure: Poly Medicure share price dropped 1 percent following the acquisition of cardiology catheter solutions manufacturer. "..... signs definitive agreements to acquire 90 percent stake in PendraCare Group consisting of PendraCare Holdings and Wellinq Medical from Wellinq Holdings B.V. at an Enterprise value of Euro 18.3mn," the company said in its exchange filing. The balance 10 percent stake to be acquired in 2030 basis actual EBITDA for CY 2029, it added.
