New Delhi, Aug. 19 -- Indian stocks maintained their winning run for the second straight session on Tuesday, August 19, on expectations that the proposed GST cut could fuel consumption in the economy. Stocks also found support from reasonable valuations following a prolonged weakness, resulting in a 0.42% gain in the Nifty 50 to 24,980, while the S&P BSE Sensex closed 0.46% higher at 81,633.

The broader markets continued to outperform frontline indices, with the Nifty Midcap 100 advancing 1.2% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 rising 0.60%. Sector-wise, the Nifty Oil & Gas index led with a 1.69% rally, followed by Nifty Media, Nifty Auto, and Nifty FMCG, which gained between 1% and 1.39%.

Following his Monday meeting with Ukrainian President V...