Market Wrap, August 26: Here's all that happened in the markets today

Extending their gaining streak into the fourth session in a row, the domestic equity market settled with over 0.5 per cent gains on Wednesday.  

The S&P BSE Sensex reclaimed the crucial 39,000 level to settle at 39,074, up 230 points or 0.59 per cent.

IndusInd Bank (up 6 per cent) ended as the top gainer on the index, followed by Reliance Industries (up over 2.6 per cent) and Axis Bank (up over 2.5 per cent).

NSE's Nifty ended at 11,550, up 77 points, or 0.67 per cent.  

Among sectoral indices on the NSE, barring Nifty FMCG, and Nifty Pharma, all the other indices ended in the green. Nifty Auto advanced nearly 1.5 per cent to 8,100.50 levels. 

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index gained 0.38 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index rose 0.69 per cent. 

Buzzing stocks

Shares of automobile companies were in focus after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council would look into the auto industry’s demand for lowering the tax rate on two-wheelers, which are now taxed at the highest slab rate of 28 per cent. 

Shares of drug firm FDC Ltd rose as much as 6.12 per cent to Rs 336.95 on the BSE after the company launched two variants of the Covid-19 drug Favipiravir under the brand names PiFLU and Favenza. The stock settled at Rs 327.40, up over 3 per cent. 
 

Shares of Indiabulls Housing Finance surged 8 per cent in the intra-day trade on the BSE on the back of heavy volume. The stock eventually settled at Rs 218, up around 5.5 per cent.