Indian shares closed marginally higher on Monday, with consumer stocks leading the gains as sentiment remained upbeat after the government finalised rates for the upcoming Goods and Services Tax. The broader NSE index closed 0.11 percent higher at 9,438.25, while the benchmark BSE index ended 0.35 percent up at 30,570.97. The Nifty FMCG index ended up 3.6 percent after touching a record high earlier in the session. ITC Ltd closed up 6.08 percent.
The government on Friday unveiled four rate bands under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) for services in line with those applying to goods, a big departure from the current single rate of 15 percent applied on most services. "Consumer stocks are gaining on the back of GST tax rates, which have been broadly in favour of FMCG stocks," said Dharmesh Kant, head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd.
ITC Ltd rose as much as 4.8 percent to an all-time high, while Hindustan Unilever Ltd gained 2 percent. Renewable energy co Suzlon Energy Ltd surged as much as 8 percent to its highest since January 6, 2016 after the company posted a March quarter consolidated net profit compared with loss a year earlier. Tata Power, down as much as 4.3 percent at its lowest since February, was among the top losers on the NSE index. The company reported a lower-than-expected March quarter consolidated net profit on Friday.