Benchmarks trim losses; Nifty claims 8100 mark

Indian equity benchmarks trimmed losses and started trading above neutral line in the late afternoon session on account of buying in frontline blue chip counters. Traders were seen piling up positions in Infra, Capital Goods and FMCG, while selling was witnessed in Metal, Oil & Gas and PSU sector stocks. Hectic buying activity was witnessed in fertilizer stocks since last one week after Ananth Kumar, Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers, stated that the government proposes to come out with a new fertilizer policy. He also added that the fertilizer ministry is following up with the oil ministry for higher gas allocation to fertilizer units. In scrip specific development, Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries was trading in red on reports that the company’s manufacturing facility at Halol in state of Gujarat is undergoing a surprise inspection by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). 

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading mostly in red, while the European markets too traded on pessimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above psychological 8,100 and 27,000 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1958:976 while 106 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27059.33, up by 1.92 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 26904.50 and 27150.78. There were 14 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.20%, while Small cap index up by 1.61%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were INFRA up by 1.00%, Capital Goods up by 0.81%, FMCG up by 0.68%, Bankex up by 0.46%, Auto up by 0.37% while, Metal down by 0.84%, Oil & Gas down by 0.14%, PSU down by 0.12%, TECK down by 0.07% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hero MotoCorp up by 1.41%, SBI up by 1.40%, HDFC up by 1.28%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.00% and Larsen & Toubro up by 0.91%. On the flip side, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries down by 4.33%, Coal India down by 2.76%, ONGC down by 2.05%, Wipro down by 1.34% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 0.86% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government is likely to implement proposed new indirect tax regime Goods and Services taxes (GST) by mid-2015. With an aim to provide impetus to Indian industry by implementing GST, Finance Ministry has started a comprehensive study of tax exemptions granted to various goods and services under indirect tax regime in order to streamline the tax structure under GST.

The government may implement two types of GSTs including central GST and state GST. However, states are opposing the two tier structure and above constitutional amendment to transfer of taxation rights from state to centre under a uniform structure. States have also proposed to keep products such as petroleum, tobacco and alcohol out of GST ambit.

GST, the proposed new indirect tax regime and one of the biggest taxation reforms in India will replace existing state and federal levies such as excise duty, service tax and value-added tax (VAT) and will integrate State economies and boost overall growth. GST will help create a pan-Indian market for movement of goods and delivery of services and add about 1-2 percent to country's GDP. Under GST, the taxation burden will be divided equitably between manufacturing and services, through a lower tax rate by increasing the tax base and minimizing exemptions. The industry is awaiting its introduction, as GST would remove the cascading effect, boost revenues and aid economic growth.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8100.05, up by 5.95 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 8057.30 and 8127.95. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were IDFC up by 3.83%, Bank of Baroda up by 1.80%, SBI up by 1.62%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.41% and HDFC up by 1.41%. On the flip side, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries down by 4.32%, Coal India down by 2.80%, ONGC down by 2.28%, NMDC down by 1.60% and Lupin down by 1.58% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 42.72 points or 0.17% to 24,662.64, Taiwan Weighted decreased 34.66 points or 0.37% to 9,322.95, KOSPI Index decreased 15.25 points or 0.74% to 2,034.16, Shanghai Composite decreased 6.63 points or 0.29% to 2,311.68 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 2.69 points or 0.14% to 1,868.16.

On the other hand, Jakarta Composite increased 10.07 points or 0.2% to 5,153.06, Straits Times increased 10.78 points or 0.32% to 3,349.41 and Nikkei 225 increased 120.42 points or 0.76% to 15,909.20.

The European markets were trading mostly in red; France’s CAC decreased 10.94 points or 0.25% to 4,439.85, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 4.02 points or 0.06% to 6,826.09 while, Germany’s DAX increased 19.28 points or 0.2% to 9,719.45.