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Auto stocks ended higher on Friday with Hyundai Motor India climbing nearly 3 per cent after GST rate cuts were announced on commonly used personal items and daily essential products. Shares of Hyundai Motor India rallied 2.69 per cent, Eicher Motors climbed 2.43 per cent, Mahindra & Mahindra edged higher by 2.34 per cent and Ashok Leyland advanced 2.22 per cent on the BSE.

 

The stock of Maruti Suzuki ended 1.70 per cent higher, TVS Motor Company climbed 1.28 per cent, Sona BLW Precision Forgings (0.80 per cent), Bharat Forge (0.77 per cent), Tata Motors (0.63 per cent), Bajaj Auto (0.22 per cent) and Hero MotoCorp (0.21 per cent). The BSE auto index jumped 1.30 per cent to 58,883.09. Sector-wise, auto stocks outperformed, rising over 1 per cent on optimism following reduced GST rates for vehicles.

 

Petrol, LPG and CNG vehicles of less than 1,200 cc and not more than 4,000 mm length and diesel vehicles of up to 1,500 cc and 4,000 mm length would move to the 18 per cent rate from the current 28 per cent. Motorcycles up to 350 cc would be taxed at a lower GST of 18 per cent as against 28 per cent at present.

 

According to auto industry players, the GST Council's decision to cut tax rates on various categories of automobiles is timely and will inject fresh momentum into the Indian automotive sector and significantly benefit first-time buyers and middle-income families.

 

On the whole, benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed unchanged after a volatile session on Friday as gains in oil and gas and auto shares were offset by losses in IT and FMCG shares. After a volatile trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed lower by 7.25 points or 0.01 per cent at 80,710.76 with 14 of its components ending with gains and 16 with losses.

 

In a see-saw trade, the barometer opened higher, but slipped into the red in late morning deals. It hit a low of 80,321.19 in the afternoon session before paring losses in the pre-close session. The index gyrated 715.37 points between the day’s high and low. The 50-share NSE Nifty eked out gains of 6.70 points or 0.03 per cent to close at 24,741.