Auto, cement shares rally up to 16% after FM 's fiscal booster dose

Eicher Motors and Maruti Suzuki India surged 16 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively in the intra-day trade today. Among the cement stocks, Shree Cement surged 14 per cent.

Shares of automobile and cement companies rallied the most, gaining up to 16 per cent on the BSE on Friday, after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a cut in the corporate taxes as part of its fiscal measure to boost the flagging economy.

Eicher Motors and Maruti Suzuki India surged 16 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively in the intra-day trade today. Meanwhile, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Ashok Leyland, TVS Motor, Escorts, Tata Motors and Bajaj Auto from the automobiles added between 5 per cent and 8 per cent.

Among the cement stocks, Shree Cement surged 14 per cent, while UltraTech Cement, Shree Cement, Ambuja Cements, ACC, Birla Corporation and India Cements gained in the range of 5 to 7 per cent on the BSE.

At 11:19 am, the S&P BSE Auto index, the largest gainer among the sector indices, was up 6.3 per cent, as compared to a 3.4 per cent rise in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex.

Among the key fiscal measures, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to cut corporation tax rate to 22 per cent (effective rate 25.17 per cent including cess and surcharge). This would be subject to the condition that these companies do not avail of any tax incentives or exemptions. Moreover, no Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT) would be imposed on these companies.. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL REPORT