Mumbai: Domestic equity benchmark BSE Sensex vaulted 1,921 points on Friday, fuelled by a slew of economy-boosting measures announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Sensex, Nifty post biggest single-day gain in 10-years as the BSE Sensex closed at 1,921.15 points or 5.32 per cent at 38,014.62. Similarly, the NSE Nifty recorded 570.65 points or 5.33 per cent at 11,275.45. Listed companies added Rs. 7 lakh crore in Friday's trade.
The development came ahead of a crucial meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on whether or not to cut rates for sectors like automobile, tourism, FMCG and others which have witnessed slowdown due to economic slump.
Bulls took over the market after the government slashed corporate tax rates for companies by almost 10 percentage points to 25.17 per cent to bring them at par with Asian rivals such as China and South Korea.
The finance minister also said the government will not levy the enhanced surcharge introduced in the Budget on capital gains arising on sale of equity shares in a companies liable for securities transaction tax.
Also, the super-rich tax will not apply on capital gains from sale of any security including derivatives in hands of foreign portfolio investors.
In another relief, the finance minister said listed companies which have announced buyback of shares prior to July 5 will not be charged with the super-rich tax.
"Markets gave complete thumbs up to the decision as it is expected to give much room for corporate India to reinvest the money into building capacity and fuel growth for the long term while providing immediate support to its waning earnings in the near term," said Narendra Solanki, Head Fundamental Research (Investment Services) - AVP Equity Research, Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers.
Read more:Sitharaman proposes to cut corporate tax rates for domestic companies
Top gainers in the Sensex pack included Hero MotoCorp, Maruti, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, SBI, M&M, HDFC Bank, HUL and L&T, rallying up to 12.52 per cent.
On the other hand, PowerGrid, Infosys, TCS, NTPC and Tech Mahindra ended in the red, losing up to 2.39 per cent.
The rupee too appreciated 29 paise to 71.04 against US dollar following the finance minister's announcements.
Meanwhile, Brent crude futures rose 0.64 per cent to USD 64.84 per barrel (intra-day).
Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai Composite Index, Nikkei and Kospi ended on a positive note, while Hang Seng settled in the red.
Stock exchanges in Europe were trading higher in their respective early sessions.
