Indian benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher on Wednesday, driven by a rally in metal stocks and optimism related to the GST Council meeting that started on September 3.
After oscillating between highs and lows, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 409.83 points or 0.51 per cent to settle at 80,567.71. During the day, the benchmark hit a high of 80,671.28 and a low of 80,004.60, gyrating 666.68 points.
The 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 135.45 points or 0.55 per cent to 24,715.05.
The GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, is meeting in New Delhi for two days to discuss the proposed pruning of tax rates to 5 per cent and 18 per cent.
Among Sensex firms, Tata Steel jumped the most by 5.90 per cent, while the other gainers were Titan, Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC, Eternal, State Bank of India, and Trent.
However, Infosys, NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, TCS, Adani Ports and Bharti Airtel were among the laggards.
Also Read: Sensex up 555 pts on value buying, strong GDP data
"In the near term, market sentiment hinges on the outcome of the GST Council meeting with traction on consumption-oriented stocks and sectors," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
Shares of Jindal Steel surged 5.49 per cent, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) climbed 5.44 per cent, National Aluminium Company edged higher by 3.37 per cent, Hindalco Industries (3.04 per cent), JSW Steel (2.92 per cent), NMDC (1.99 per cent), Lloyds Metals (1.87 per cent), Vedanta (1.84 per cent) and Hindustan Zinc (1.01 per cent) on the BSE.
Tracking the sharp rally in these stocks, the BSE metal index jumped 3.08 per cent to 32,138.17.
"Tata Steel, SAIL, Jindal Steel and Hindustan Copper led the charge as China's supply curbs and a weaker dollar boosted sentiment," Gaurav Garg, Lemonn Markets Desk, said.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi settled in positive territory while Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended lower.
Equity markets in Europe were trading higher but US markets ended lower on Tuesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,159.48 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dropped 1.52 per cent to USD 68.09 a barrel.
On Tuesday, the Sensex declined 206.61 points or 0.26 per cent to settle at 80,157.88. The Nifty dipped 45.45 points or 0.18 per cent to 24,579.60.
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