Stock markets rally in early trade; Sensex climbs over 300 points
Mumbai (PTI): Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty rallied in early trade on Friday, buoyed by GST rate cuts announcement and a positive trend in global markets.
The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 318.55 points to 81,036.56 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty rallied 98.05 points to 24,832.35.
From the Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra, Trent, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Power Grid, and Reliance Industries were among the gainers.
ITC, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC, and Sun Pharma were among the laggards.
Common use items from roti/paratha to hair oil, ice creams and TVs will cost less, while tax incidence on personal health and life insurance will be brought down to nil after the all-powerful GST Council on Wednesday approved a complete overhaul of the tangled Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.
The GST Council approved limiting slabs to 5 per cent and 18 per cent, effective from September 22, the first day of Navaratri.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng traded in positive territory.
US markets ended higher on Thursday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 106.34 crore on Thursday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DII) bought stocks worth Rs 2,233.09 crore, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.18 per cent to USD 66.87 a barrel.
On Thursday, the Sensex settled 150.30 points or 0.19 per cent higher at 80,718.01, and the Nifty ended marginally higher by 19.25 points or 0.08 per cent at 24,734.30.
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Abhigyan Kundu hits 209 not out for first-ever double ton in Youth ODIs for India
Dubai (PTI): Wicketkeeper-batter Abhigyan Kundu on Tuesday created history with first-ever double ton in Youth ODIs for India, scoring an unbeaten against Malaysia in the U-19 Asia Cup match here.
The 17-year-old Kundu thus recorded only the second instance of a double century in Youth ODIs after South Africa's Jorich Van Schalkwyk, who had scored 215 off 153 balls against Zimbabwe earlier this year in Harare.
Batting at No 5, the left-handed Kundu hit an overall 19 fours and seven sixes to smash 209 not out off only 125 balls.
His knock powered India U-19 to a huge 408 for seven batting first.
Earlier in the same tournament, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had scored a 95-ball 171 against the UAE, which is overall the ninth highest individual score in the format.
