Mumbai: On Friday, auto stocks saw a strong rally after the GST Council’s decision to cut tax rates on small cars and motorcycles. The BSE Auto Index rose by 1.30 percent, closing at 58,883.09 points. This surge came as the market responded positively to the new two-slab GST system — 5 percent and 18 percent — announced to take effect from September 22, the first day of Navaratri.

Hyundai Motor India led the auto sector gains, rising 2.69 percent on the BSE. Other top performers included Eicher Motors (+2.43 percent), Mahindra & Mahindra (+2.34 percent), and Ashok Leyland (+2.22 percent).

Maruti Suzuki also climbed 1.70 percent, while TVS Motor went up 1.28 percent. Smaller gains were seen in Sona BLW (0.80 percent), Bharat Forge (0.77 percent), Tata Motors (0.63 percent), Bajaj Auto (0.22 percent), and Hero MotoCorp (0.21 percent).

The reduction in GST rates from 28 percent to 18 percent on many popular vehicle categories is being seen as a major positive move. It affects petrol, LPG, and CNG vehicles with engine sizes under 1,200cc and length under 4,000 mm, and diesel vehicles under 1,500cc and 4,000 mm. Two-wheelers like motorcycles under 350cc will also now attract 18 percent GST, down from the current 28 percent.

Experts believe the decision will benefit first-time buyers and middle-class families, especially during the upcoming festive season. According to Ajit Mishra of Religare Broking, the move is ‘timely and will inject fresh momentum’ into the auto sector. Industry players say this will not only boost sales but also investor confidence in automotive stocks.

Mumbai, Sep 5: The Indian benchmark indices opened higher on Friday, buoyed by transformative rate reductions announced by the GST Council across sectors as buying was seen in the auto, IT and PSU bank shares in the early trade.

At around 9.38 am, Sensex was trading 140.72 points or 0.17 per cent up at 80,858.73 while the Nifty added 52 point or 0.21 per cent at 24,786.30.

Nifty Bank was up 4.05 points or 0.01 per cent at 54,079.50 The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 57,291.20 after adding 332.05 points or 0.58 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 17,704.70 after gaining 82.75 points or 0.47 per cent.

According to analysts, Nifty indicated an optimistic positive move, with anticipation of positive cues from the GST rate outcome, which would decide the further course of the market in the coming days.

“The index would need a decisive move past the important 50EMA level at the 24,800 zone, which can trigger a fresh further upward move along with the broader markets beginning to participate to support the benchmark indices,” said Vaishali Parekh, Vice President (Technical Research), PL Capital.

The 24,500 zone shall continue to remain as the important support zone for the index, she added.

Overall, the market is showing resilience within a consolidation range. With improving technical momentum and steady domestic inflows, the near-term bias remains positive, said experts.

“Traders should adopt a buy-on-dips strategy and focus on stock-specific opportunities in leadership sectors like banking, IT, and auto,” said Mandar Bhojane from Choice Broking.

Meanwhile, in the Sensex pack, M&M, Trent, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Power Grid and Maruti Suzuki were the top gainers. Whereas, ITC, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Sun Pharma and HDFC Bank were the top losers.

In the Asian markets, Bangkok, Japan, Seoul, Hong Kong and China were trading in green.

In the last trading session, Dow Jones in the US closed at 45,621.29, up 350.06 points, or 0.77 per cent. The S&P 500 ended with a gain of 53.82 points, or 0.83 per cent, at 6,502.08 and the Nasdaq closed at 21,707.69, up 209.97 points, or 0.98 per cent.

On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers as they sold equities worth Rs 106.34 crore on September 4, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 2,233.09 crore.

Mumbai: On September 1, 2025, the Indian government announced a major change: sugar mills and distilleries can now produce as much ethanol as they want from sugarcane juice, sugar syrup, and molasses. This rule will start from the new ethanol supply year beginning on November 1, 2025.

Earlier, during the 2023-24 ethanol supply year, there were restrictions because sugarcane output was low. But with good monsoon rains this year, sugarcane production is expected to rise. So, the government has removed all limits to support the industry and help reach India’s fuel blending goals.

Following the announcement, stocks of major sugar companies like Balrampur Chini, Avadh Sugar, Shree Renuka Sugars, Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar, and Dalmia Bharat Sugar jumped up to 15 percent during Tuesday’s stock market session. Investors see this as a big positive step for the sector.

India is the world’s second-largest sugar producer. But the industry has faced tough times due to falling sugarcane supply. With this new policy, sugar mills can now turn more of their cane juice and B-heavy molasses into ethanol. Ethanol sells at better prices than sugar, which can boost company earnings.

Also, the move helps India progress toward its goal of 20 percent ethanol blending in petrol by 2025, and even possibly 30 percent in the future.

As per the experts this is a big relief for sugar companies. The removal of production caps means mills can now use their full capacity to produce ethanol. This will improve their profits and help the sector grow.

While mills are now free to make more ethanol, the government will regularly check sugar availability in the market. This is to make sure there’s enough sugar left for domestic consumption.