Sensex down 150 pts, Nifty below 24,700; IT, FMCG drag

Indian stock markets were trading higher on Friday following the Asian peers. The markets also extended their gains into second day today, following a slew of announcements related to the rationalisation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) structure done by the GST Council on September 3.

At 10 AM, the BSE Sensex index was trading at 80,856 levels, higher by 138 points or 0.17 per cent, while the Nifty50 was at 24,776 levels, up 42.35 points or 0.17 per cent.

M&M, Trent, Asian Paints, Power Grid, Reliance Industries, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Bharat Electronics, Bajaj Finserv, and Axis Bank were the top Sensex gainers today, rising between 0.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent.

On the downside, ITC fell over 2 per cent, followed by HUL, Sun Pharma, Titan, and TCS shares.

In the broader markets, the Nifty MidCap and the Nifty SmallCap indices added 0.6 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively.

Among sectors, the Nifty Auto index was the top gainer, rising 0.7 per cent, led by Ashok Leyland, M&M, Bharat Forge, Samvardhana Motherson, and Bajaj Auto.

The Nifty Realty index (up 0.6 per cent), the Nifty PSU Bank index (0.4 per cent), the Nifty Financial Services index (0.3 per cent), and the Nifty Capital Market index (0.96 per cent) were the top pockets that saw buying interest on Friday.

IPO today

No activity is scheduled in the mainline IPO space today. In the SME segment, Vashishtha Luxury Fashion IPO opens for subscription today. Vigor Plast India IPO and Sharvaya Metals Ltd. IPO enter the second day of subscription today, while Austere Systems IPO enters the third day of subscription. Further, the basis of allotment of Goel Construction Co IPO, and Optivalue Tek Consulting IPO are to take place today.

Abril Paper Tech, Snehaa Organics, and Sugs Lloyd are set to make their D-Street debut today.