Nifty 50 was trading at 24,817.35 (102.3, 0.4%), BSE Sensex was trading at 80,962.64 (394.9, 0.5%) while the broader Nifty 500 was trading at 22,900.05 (35.4, 0.2%). Market breadth is in the red. Of the 2,512 stocks traded today, 1,104 were on the uptick, and 1,359 were down.

Nifty 50 opens higher as GST Council cuts tax slabs to 5% and 18%, adds 40% rate on sin goods. On Wednesday, Indian indices closed higher after extending gains in the afternoon session. FIIs sold equity worth Rs 1,666.5 crore, while DIIs bought equity worth Rs 2,495.3 crore in Indian markets on the same day. 

Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 open higher, tracking the benchmark index. Nifty FMCG and Nifty Auto indices open higher.

Major US indices closed mixed on Wednesday. European indices closed higher, except for Portugal’s PSI. Asian indices are trading mixed. Meanwhile, US job openings fell to a 10-month low in July and unemployment rose to 4.2%, pointing to a weaker labor market. The data has strengthened expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut in September.

• Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv rise after the government cuts GST on key consumer durables from 28% to 18%. The reduction covers air conditioners, TVs above 32 inches, monitors, and dishwashers, boosting retail demand and benefiting consumer finance companies.

• Rolex Rings is rising as its board of directors approves a 10-for-1 stock split.

• Emkay maintains its 'Buy' call on ICICI Bank, with a higher target price of Rs 1,700 per share. This indicates a potential upside of 20.4%. The brokerage believes that the lender is well-positioned for net interest income (NII) growth, driven by better cost management, core fees, and improvement in asset quality. It expects the bank's NII to grow at a CAGR of 12.4% over FY26-28.

• Stationery stocks like DOMS Industries and Flair Writing are rising as the GST council cuts tax on items such as pencils, sharpeners and crayons to zero from 12%.

• Varun Beverages falls after the GST Council approves a hike in tax rates. Carbonated and caffeinated drinks will now attract a 40% GST, up from 28%. The GST on other non-alcoholic beverages will also rise to 40% from 18%.

• MosChip Technologies surges more than 15% as PM Narendra Modi announces that work is underway for the second phase of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM 2.0). The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology informs that the first phase of ISM attracted investments worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore across 10 semiconductor projects.

• Macquarie initiates coverage on Kaynes Technology with an 'Outperform' call and a target price of Rs 7,700 per share. This indicates a potential upside of 13.7%. The brokerage is confident in the stock due to its leadership in electronics system design & manufacturing (ESDM), and growth strategy focused on diversification, revenue expansion, and margin improvement. It expects the firm's EBITDA margin to expand to 20% by FY30.

• Gaming stocks like Delta Corp and Nazara Technologies are falling as the GST council increases tax on casinos, betting and online money games to 40% from 28%.

• Pankaj Pandey, Head of Research at ICICI Direct, views the GST cuts as positive for FMCG segments such as dairy, packaged foods, juices, and discretionary sectors like footwear, apparel, and hospitality. He says the move could boost consumption and benefit autos and consumer durables. However, Pandey warns of a potential annual revenue loss of Rs 1.8 lakh crore (0.5% of GDP), which may impact fiscal balances in FY26 and FY27.

  #MCExplains | GST cuts: Bigger boost for staples or discretionary demand? Here’s why Pankaj Pandey of ICICIDirect believes the real winners could be autos and consumer durables.#GST @iNandita13 pic.twitter.com/CI6BAvn1wb

  — Moneycontrol (@moneycontrolcom) September 4, 2025

• Solar Industries falls after an explosion at its Nagpur facility killed one person and injured eight. The incident occurred during the crystallisation process of an energetic material, with the shock impact causing casualties in nearby areas.

• Insurance stocks like ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Star Health & Allied Insurance, and Niva Bupa Health Insurance are rising as the GST council cuts tax on insurance premiums to zero from 18%.

• ITI receives an order worth Rs 110 crore from Guj Info Petro (GIPL) for two IT projects. The company will implement IT infrastructure for GIPL and set up a cyber security operation centre (SOC) at its data centre in Gandhinagar to protect digital assets and ensure secure services.

• Auto stocks like Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki are rising after the government cuts GST rates on cars, two-wheelers, CVs, and tractors to 5% and 18%, while EVs remain at 5%. Emkay Global says the reform lowers tax burdens and fixes the inverted duty structure, with all auto parts now taxed at 18% (down from 18–28%). The brokerage sees a potential 5–10% boost in demand across segments.

  #MarketsWithBS | #GST rejig slashes rates on cars, two-wheelers, CVs, and tractors, while EVs stay at 5%.@EmkayGlobal sees a 5-10% demand boost; M&M, Maruti, Hero MotoCorp, Eicher, TVS, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, and Escorts among key beneficiaries.@nikita_vashisht #Markets… pic.twitter.com/erX9hn3Yr3

  — Business Standard (@bsindia) September 4, 2025

• GHV Infra Projects is rising as it bags a letter of intent (LoI) worth Rs 120 crore from GHV (India) for engineering, construction and redevelopment of South Eastern Railway's station in Jharkhand.

• FMCG stocks like Britannia, Colgate-Palmolive, Dabur, and Nestle India are surging after the GST Council cuts tax on essential goods from 12–18% to 5%, effective September 22.

• Poly Medicure is rising as its board of directors approves the acquisition of a 90% stake in PendraCare Group for Rs 188.5 crore through its Dutch subsidiary, RisoR Holdings BV.

• B Thiagarajan, MD of Blue Star, expects festive season sales to grow by 30%, up from the earlier estimate of 15–20%, driven by the GST rate cut to 18% on electronics. He adds that the company will pass down the benefit to consumers and believes the industry can achieve 20% growth in FY26 following rate rationalisation.

  GST Rate Cut Bonanza | B Thiagarajan, MD, Blue Star (@BlueStarLtd) to @CNBCTV18News
  
  - Our #growth estimate for festive season sales is now 30% vs 15-20% earlier
  - Entire benefit will be passed on to consumers
  - Industry can deliver 20% growth in #FY26 after rate rationalisation… pic.twitter.com/thLBm7AUod

  — CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) September 4, 2025

• SPML Infra is rising as it appoints Abhinandan Sethi as Managing Director for five years, effective September 3.

• Bharat Heavy Electricals rises as it bags a letter of intent (LoI) worth Rs 2,600 crore from MB Power (Madhya Pradesh) to supply equipment, including boiler, turbine, and generator for an 800 MW power project in the state.

• Force Motors' August wholesales grow 4.5% YoY to 2,403 units, driven by a 6.6% YoY increase in domestic wholesales. However, exports decline 26% YoY to 108 units.

• Aptus Value Housing Finance is rising as reports emerge that WestBridge Capital plans to sell its entire 16.5% stake (or 8.2 crore shares) for Rs 2,600 crore at a price of Rs 316 per share through a block deal.

• Markets rise on early trading, Nifty 50 was trading at 24,873.10 (158.1, 0.6%), BSE Sensex was trading at 81,456.67 (889.0, 1.1%), while the broader Nifty 500 was trading at 23,001.90 (137.3, 0.6%).

• Market breadth is ticking up strongly. Of the 2,087 stocks traded today, 1,689 showed gains, and 353 showed losses.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (3,483.90, 6.0%), Bajaj Finance Ltd. (935.90, 4.4%) and Jubilant Foodworks Ltd. (658.50, 3.7%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Max Financial Services Ltd. (1,570, -2.9%), Coromandel International Ltd. (2,288.30, -2.8%) and Lloyds Metals & Energy Ltd. (1,303, -2.5%).

Volume Rockets

20 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.

Top high volume gainers on BSE included DOMS Industries Ltd. (2,722.20, 8.7%), Bata India Ltd. (1,242, 6.9%) and Gillette India Ltd. (10,609, 4.8%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd. (762.95, -1.7%), Brainbees Solutions Ltd. (356.25, -1.7%) and Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd. (450.60, -0.3%).

Aptus Value Housing Finance India Ltd. (334.90, 0.8%) was trading at 28.2 times of weekly average. Escorts Kubota Ltd. (3,793.20, 3.2%) and Sapphire Foods India Ltd. (329.45, 2.0%) were trading with volumes 16.9 and 16.7 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

19 stocks took off, crossing 52 week highs,

Stocks touching their year highs included - Cummins India Ltd. (3,943.40, 1.5%), Eicher Motors Ltd. (6,466.50, 1.5%) and L&T Finance Ltd. (230.12, 1.3%).

27 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including DOMS Industries Ltd. (2,722.20, 8.7%) and ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd. (1,870, 2.6%). 7 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Mastek Ltd. (2,503.30, -2.9%) and Tata Power Company Ltd. (383.60, -1.4%).