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The NSE index ended at a record closing high as the country moved a step closer to implementing a nationwide goods and services tax starting July.
The broader NSE index ended 29.95 points or 0.33 per cent higher at 9,173.75, while the benchmark BSE index closed 115.99 points or 0.39 per cent higher at 29,647.42.
Among BSE sectoral indices, realty index was the star-performer and was up 2.17 per cent, consumer durables 1.38 per cent, banking 0.82 per cent and capital goods 0.55 per cent. On the other hand, metal index was down 0.26 per cent, IT 0.23 per cent, TECk 0.08 per cent and PSU 0.07 per cent.
Top five Sensex gainers were Adani Ports (+5.77%), HDFC Bank (+2.51%), Bharti Airtel (+1.67%), GAIL (+1.27%) and Reliance (+1.17%), while the major losers were ONGC (-1.34%), Coal India (-1.33%), Tata Steel (-1.08%), Axis Bank (-0.97%) and Bajaj Auto (-0.66%).
GST Bills
Four Bills related to GST, passed by the Lower House of Parliament, would next be presented before the Upper House. The new sales tax regime will subsume a slew of federal and state levies, transforming a nation of more than 1.2 billion population into a single market.
Broader gains in the market were capped due to caution ahead of the expiration of March futures & options later in the day.
Logistics shares were trading higher after the passage of the GST Bills. Allcargo Logistics Ltd rose as much as 4.4 per cent, while VRL Logistics Ltd shot up as much as 4.3 per cent and GATI Ltd gained as much as 2.5 per cent.
Four Bills related to GST, passed by the Lower House of Parliament, would next be presented before the Upper House. The new sales tax regime will subsume a slew of federal and state levies, transforming a nation of more than 1.2 billion population into a single market.
Financial shares extended a recent rally with the Nifty Finance and Nifty Bank indexes gaining for the fifth session in six.
Banking behemoth State Bank of India rose as much as 1.8 per cent to its highest in a little over 22 months and was among the top percentage gainers on the NSE index.
Kotak Mahindra Bank rose as much as 1.7 per cent after the private lender said it would focus on building stressed assets business and double its customer base.
Meanwhile, auto stocks including Hero MotoCorp Ltd and Ashok Leyland Ltd recovered from steep losses after the country's top court banned sale of new vehicles with older Euro III fuel technology from April 1.
Two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp rose as much as 1.4 per cent while Ashok Leyland rose as much as 1.2 per cent.
The euro dipped and bond yields hit multi-week lows on Thursday as easing inflation in Spain and Germany led investors to row back further on expectations of when the European Central Bank might tighten monetary policy.
The single currency dipped 0.3 per cent against the dollar and the yield on Germany's 10-year government bond , the benchmark security for the region, hit a three-week low.
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