Sensex, Nifty End Off Day's Highs

(RTTNews) - Indian shares ended Thursday's session on a positive note as global bond market worries subsided, oil extended steep overnight losses on oversupply concerns, and weak U.S. labor market data reinforced bets on a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut.

Investor sentiment was also buoyed by hopes of robust domestic GDP growth after the Union government approved sweeping changes in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system, in a landmark move aimed at simplifying India's indirect tax regime.

The GST Council reduced the current four slabs - 5, 12, 18 and 28 percent - to a two-rate structure of 5 percent and 18 percent while proposing a special 40 percent slab for a select few items such as high-end cars, tobacco and cigarettes.

According to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the revised structure will be implemented from September 22.

The restructured tax framework is positioned as a step to stimulate domestic demand and help businesses cope with global trade challenges.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty rose sharply in early trade before ending off their day's highs as trade worries lingered.

The benchmark BSE Sensex hit an intraday high of 81,457 before closing up 150.30 points, or 0.19 percent, at 80,718.01.

The broader NSE Nifty index ended up 19.25 points, or 0.08 percent, at 24,734.30 after hitting a high of 24,981 earlier.

The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes ended down around 0.6 percent each.

The market breadth was weak on the BSE, with 2,323 shares declining while 1,810 shares rose and 147 shares closed unchanged.

Among the top gainers, Mahindra & Mahindra soared 6 percent and Bajaj Finance rallied 4.3 percent. HDFC Bank, ITC, Trent and Bajaj FinServ rose 1-2 percent.