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Indian equity markets are likely to make gap-up start on Thursday, tracking positive cues from global markets. Traders are likely to take support from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council approving a new dual-slab structure of 5 percent and 18 percent, and scrapped the existing 12 percent and 28 percent rates, in a landmark move aimed at simplifying India's indirect tax regime. 

Some of the key factors to be watched:

Hope EU-India FTA will be concluded soon: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that India would like to see its negotiations with the European Union for a free trade agreement move to a decisive conclusion soon.

GST reforms to provide relief to families, ease compliance for businesses: India Inc hailed the GST Council's forward-looking decisions -- moving to two rates of 5 per cent and 18 per cent from September 22, 2025, simplifying refunds and MSME procedures, and exempting individual life and health insurance from the indirect tax regime.

Small cars, bikes up to 350 cc to get cheaper as GST reforms kick in: Small cars and entry-level bikes are set to get cheaper as the GST Council has approved a complete overhaul of the tangled Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.

FDI up 15% to $18.62 billion in Apr-June FY26: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India rose 15 per cent to $18.62 billion during April-June this fiscal year, while the inflow from the US nearly tripled to $5.61 billion during the quarter despite tariff issues.

India raises concerns over mobility, non-tariff barriers faced by Indian exporters in EU: India has raised concerns over certain issues such as migration, mobility, streamlining visa processes and non-tariff barriers being faced by domestic exporters in the European Union (EU), including in Germany, and both sides agreed to work together to resolve these issues and facilitate smoother trade flows.

On the global front: The US markets ended mostly in green on Wednesday, after the Labor Department released a report showing job openings in the U.S. fell to their lowest level in ten months in July. Asian markets are trading mixed on Thursday, ahead of key U.S. employment data due later in the week. 

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks closed higher in a volatile session on Wednesday, driven by a rally in metal, Basic Materials and Healthcare stocks and optimism related to the GST Council meeting. The GST Council is meeting in New Delhi for two days to discuss the proposed pruning of tax rates to 5 per cent and 18 per cent. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 409.83 points or 0.51% to 80,567.71 and the CNX Nifty was up by 135.45 points or 0.55% to 24,715.05.

Some of the important factors in trade:

India services PMI hits 15-year high in August: A monthly survey said the Indian services sector growth touched a 15-year high in August, driven by a sharp rise in new orders and output, amid substantial improvement in demand conditions. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index was up from 60.5 in July to 62.9 in August, indicating the steepest rate of expansion since June 2010.

Extension of export obligation period for chemical imports to provide relief to exporters: The government said that extension of the export obligation period for chemical imports under the advance authorisation scheme from 6 to 18 months will provide much-needed relief to exporters amid concerns over steep US tariffs.

Next-gen GST reforms will set economy open, transparent: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the next generation GST reforms would 'absolutely' set an economy open and transparent with further reduction in compliance burden and benefiting small businesses.

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