Benchmarks slip as traders eye GST meet, adjust to new F&O expiry cycle

Equity benchmarks ended in the red on Tuesday, snapping early gains as profit booking and the weekly expiry of derivatives contracts on the NSE pulled indices lower. Investors also remained cautious amid global uncertainty and ahead of the key Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting scheduled for September 3 and 4.

The Nifty opened strong above the 24,650 mark and climbed to an intraday high of 24,756.10. However, selling pressure in the latter half of the session dragged it below the 24,600 level at close. Banks and financials were the biggest drags, while FMCG and metal counters lent some support to the market.

The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) ushered in a structural shift to derivatives trading by changing the futures and options contract expiry cycle. Starting 1 September 2025, all expiries will take place on Tuesdays, marking the end of the long-standing Thursday expiry tradition that lasted for 25 years.

The S&P BSE Sensex declined 206.61 points or 0.26% to 80,157.88. The Nifty 50 index dropped 45.45 points or 0.18% to 24,579.60.

Mahindra & Mahindra (down 2.45%), ICICI Bank (down 1.15%) and HDFC Bank (down 0.66%) were major Nifty drags today.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.27% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.64%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE 2,531 shares rose and 1,614 shares fell. A total of 147 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 0.95% to 11.40.

Economy:

India's central and state governments collected a total of Rs 1.86 trillion as goods and services tax (GST) in August, 6.5% more than a year ago, recording its second slowest pace so far this fiscal year, official data showed. After refunds, the GST revenue came to Rs 1.67 trillion, 10.7% more than the net revenue a year ago.

Trump Tariffs:

U.S. President Donald Trump said that India had offered to reduce its tariffs on U.S. imports to zero. They have now offered to cut their Tariffs to nothing, but it's getting late. They should have done so years ago,' U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social. He added that the U.S.′ relationship with India was 'one sided'.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.11% to 6.578 from the previous close of 6.585.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 88.1650 compared with its close of 88.1000 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 3 October 2025 settlement rose 0.16% to Rs 104,949.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.74% to 98.40.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 0.92% to 4.283.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for November 2025 settlement jumped $2.02 or 2.99% to $69.50 a barrel.

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones index futures were currently down by 261 points, signaling a weak opening for US stocks today.

European market declined on Tuesday as Euro zone inflation edged higher to 2.1% in August, according to the latest flash data from statistics agency Eurostat. Core inflation, which strips out more volatile food, energy, alcohol and tobacco prices, was unchanged from 2.3% in July. The closely watched services print meanwhile was slightly lower in August, at 3.1% compared to 3.2% in July.

At 2.1%, the euro zone's latest inflation rate is just slightly higher than the European Central Bank's target of 2%.

Asian shares ended mixed as investors assessed the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting of leaders in Tianjin, with tariff uncertainty weighing on sentiment.

This comes after a U.S. federal appeals court on Friday ruled that most of President Donald Trump's global tariffs are illegal.

South Korea's consumer price index rose 1.7% in August from the year before, after increasing by 2.1% the month before. This marks its slowest year-on-year rise since November and is marginally weaker than the 2% rise.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Shares of sugar companies surge up to 20% after the government permitted ethanol production from sugarcane juice, syrup, and all types of molasses without any volume restrictions for the 2025-26 season. The move is expected to boost revenues for sugar firms with higher ethanol blending capacities, lifting investor sentiment across the sector.

Rajshree Sugars & Chemicals topped the charts with a 20% jump, followed by Shree Renuka Sugars which rose 12.72% and Dwarikesh Sugar Industries that advanced 12.46%. Dhampur Sugar Mills climbed 10.36%, while Avadh Sugar & Energy was up 5.03%. Among other gainers, Balrampur Chini Mills rose 4.61%, Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar gained 4.48%, Praj Industries advanced 4.15%, and Triveni Engineering & Industries added 3.03%. Uttam Sugar Mills lagged the pack with a 1.84% rise.

Paisalo Digital climbed 3.05% after the company scheduled a board committee meeting to consider fund raising through non-convertible debentures (NCDs).

One Mobikwik Systems soared 18.63% after Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) fully exited the digital payments provider through block deals on Monday, 1 September 2025. The buyers included BofA Securities Europe SA, which purchased 5 lakh shares (0.64% equity) at Rs 243.61 per share, and S I Investments & Broking, which acquired 4 lakh shares (0.51% equity) at Rs 248.42 per share.

Hero MotoCorp rose 1.31% after the company said that it has dispatched 553,727 motorcycles and scooters in August 2025, reflecting an 8% growth compared to August 2024.

Maruti Suzuki India shed 0.17%. The company's total sales marginally shed 0.60% to 180,683 units in August 2025 as against 181,782 units sold in August 2024.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) added 0.03%. The company reported handling 41.9 MMT of cargo in August 2025, marking an 16% year-on-year (YoY) increase, primarily driven by a 29% YoY growth in container volumes.

Puravankara rose 0.59%. The company announced the acquisition of redevelopment rights for Samrat Ashok Co-operative Housing Society, a prime residential society located in Malabar Hill, Mumbai. The acquisition was made through its wholly owned subsidiary, Purva Blue Agate. The project, spread across 1.43 acres, offers a development potential of 0.7 million square feet. The estimated revenue potential of the project stands at Rs 2,700 crore.

IPO Update:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Amanta Healthcare received bids for 13,70,21,598 shares as against 70,00,000 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:57 IST on Tuesday (2 September 2025). The issue was subscribed 19.57 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 1 September 2025 and it will close on 3 September 2025. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 120 and 126 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 119 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

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