Image used for representational purpose.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Stock markets extended the winning run to seventh day on Wednesday (April 23, 2025) with benchmark BSE Sensex jumping 520 points to close above 80,000 level for the first time in four months driven by strong gains in IT and auto shares.

The 30-share Sensex rose by 520.90 points or 0.65% to settle at 80,116.49, the highest closing level since December 18. During the day, it surged 658.96 points or 0.82% to 80,254.55.

Also read | Sensex reclaims 80,000-level on global markets rally, foreign fund inflows

The NSE Nifty rallied 161.70 points or 0.67% to 24,328.95.

Foreign fund inflows and positive global trends also boosted the market sentiment, analysts said.

Among the Sensex firms, HCL Tech surged the most by 7.72% after the firm posted an 8.1% increase in consolidated net profit at ₹4,307 crore for March quarter 2024-25, mainly on account of large deals with a total contract value of about ₹25,500 crore.

Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel and Maruti were also among major gainers.

Banking shares witnessed a sell-off after recent sharp gains with leading private lender HDFC Bank dropping by 1.98% to emerge as the biggest loser among Sensex shares.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, ITC and UltraTech Cement were also among the laggards.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi index, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng settled in the positive territory. Shanghai SSE Composite ended marginally lower.

Markets in Europe were trading significantly higher.

U.S. markets bounced back sharply on Tuesday. Nasdaq Composite surged 2.71%, Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 2.66% and S&P 500 rallied 2.51%.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹1,290.43 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

“The Indian equity market sustained its positive momentum, driven by better outcome from the latest set of IT results and optimistic forward-looking comments. However, profit-booking was visible in financials after the recent sharp rally.

“While US-China trade tensions appear to be easing, a rally in U.S. tech stocks has further bolstered overall global market sentiment,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

The BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.94% and smallcap index went up by 0.26%.

Among BSE sectoral indices, BSE Focused IT surged 4.25%, IT jumped 4%, teck (3.10%), auto (2.34%), realty (1.37%), consumer discretionary (1.02%), healthcare (0.96%) and industrials (0.845).

Financial Services, bankex and consumer durables were the laggards.

As many as 2,078 stocks advanced while 1,873 declined and 155 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.35% to $68.35 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark climbed 187.09 points or 0.24% to settle at 79,595.59 on Tuesday. The Nifty went up by 41.70 points or 0.17% to 24,167.25.

Image used for representation purpose only.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Luxury goods like handbags, wrist watches, footwear, and sportswear, priced above ₹10 lakh will now attract a 1% tax collected at source (TCS).

The Income Tax Department has notified the applicability of TCS at the rate of 1% on sale of specified luxury goods, where the selling price exceeds ₹10 lakh with effect from April 22, 2025.

The TCS provision for luxury goods was introduced via Finance Act, 2024, as part of the Budget presented in July, 2024.

The obligation to collect TCS shall be on the seller in respect of the notified goods such as wrist watch, art objects such as paintings, sculptures, and antiques, collectible items including coins and stamps, yachts, helicopters, luxury handbags, sunglasses, footwear, high-end sportswear and equipment, home theatre systems, and horses intended for racing or polo.

Nangia Andersen LLP Tax Partner Sandeep Jhunjhunwala, said this notification operationalises the Government’s intent to enhance monitoring of high-value discretionary expenditure and strengthen the audit trail in the luxury goods segment.

It reflects a broader policy objective of expanding the tax base and promoting greater financial transparency.

“Sellers will now be required to ensure timely compliance with TCS provisions, while buyers of notified luxury goods may experience enhanced KYC requirements and documentation at the time of purchase.

“Although the luxury goods sector may undergo some transitional challenges, this measure is expected to promote formalisation and improved regulatory oversight over time,” Mr. Jhunjhunwala added.