Benchmarks continue to trade in green in late morning session

Indian bourses continued to trade in green in late morning session on emergence of buying by funds and retail investors ahead of tomorrow’s monthly expiry in derivatives segment. Sentiments got a boost with Mauritius promising full cooperation with India to address outstanding issues relating to their bilateral tax treaty. Some support also came in on reports that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 737.86 crore on March 24, 2015. However, gains remain capped as traders remained cautious over forthcoming fourth-quarter earnings season. On global front, Asian stocks declined on Wednesday, following mixed leads from a lower closing overnight on Wall Street amid renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates and a positive close in the Euro zone. Back home, Indian rupee fell by six paise at 62.32 against the dollar in early trade due to month end dollar demand from importers.

Back on street, stocks from Banking, Auto and FMCG counters were supporting the markets’ uptrend, while those from Metal, PSU and Power counters were adding to the underlying cautious undertone. In scrip specific development, shares of Rolta have surged after the company has entered into an agreement with Hitachi India to address significant market opportunities in high growth business segments in India. On the other hand, shares of Ipca Laboratories have declined on reports that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an import alert on the company's manufacturing facilities at Pithampur and Silvassa.

The market breadth on BSE was positive, out of 2285 stocks traded, 895 stocks advanced, while 1281 stocks declined on the BSE. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28223.34, up by 61.62 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 28166.16 and 28249.60. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.10%, while Small cap index up by 0.06%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 0.36%, Auto up by 0.34%, FMCG up by 0.23%, TECK up by 0.16% and Realty up by 0.06% while, Metal down by 1.00%, PSU down by 0.86%, Power down by 0.85%, Capital Goods down by 0.83% and Oil & Gas down by 0.49% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 1.69%, HDFC up by 1.46%, Sun Pharma Inds. up by 1.46%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.28% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.95%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 2.62%, GAIL India down by 2.50%, Coal India down by 1.55%, ONGC down by 1.34% and BHEL down by 1.04% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the India-Mauritius Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) may see some headway with the island nation promising full cooperation with India to address outstanding issues relating to their bilateral tax treaty.

The development comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Mauritius. Its Finance Minister Seetanah Lutchmeenaraidoo in his Budget speech said that “The clear statement made by Prime Minister Modi during his last visit in Mauritius has reassured all stakeholders in the global business sector that India will do nothing to harm this sector.” He further said that we will cooperate fully with Indian authorities to bring to a fruitful conclusion our discussions on outstanding issues relating to the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement.

It has long been debated that Mauritius is being used for round-tripping of funds into India even though it has always maintained that there have been no concrete evidence of any such misuse. Recently, during his visit, PM Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Anerood Jugnauth discussed the issues related to the tax treaty.

Under the DTAA, capital gains on sale of assets in India by companies registered in Mauritius can only be taxed in Mauritius. While short-term capital gains are taxed at 10 per cent in India, they are exempt in Mauritius. So, such companies escape paying taxes in both countries.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8559.25, up by 16.30 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 8539.30 and 8573.75. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Sun Pharma up by 1.88%, Tata Motors up by 1.86%, BPCL up by 1.51%, Dr Reddys Lab up by 1.50% and HDFC up by 1.44%. On the flip side, NMDC down by 2.87%, GAIL India down by 2.60%, NTPC down by 2.52%, Zee Entertainment down by 2.06% and Bank Of Baroda down by 1.73% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in the red; Taiwan Weighted decreased 0.64%, Jakarta Composite declined 0.75%, Shanghai Composite dropped 1.18%, Nikkei 225 shed 0.20% and KOSPI Index was down by 0.10%. On the flip side, Straits Times increased 0.17%, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 0.3% and Hang Seng was up by 0.34%.