Benchmarks continue to trade in red in late morning session

Recovering from day’s low, benchmark equity indices have gained momentum however were still trading below the neutral line in absence of any positive triggers which could have taken the markets higher and sustained selling in frontline line blue-chip stocks. Besides, profit-booking and lower-than-expected Q4 earnings by some companies too weighed on the domestic sentiment. Traders remained cautious ahead of the expiry of May derivatives contracts due on Thursday and GDP data scheduled on Friday.  However, investors got some support from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s statement that he was confident that Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime would come into force from April 2016. He has said that passage of GST and the land acquisition bill would be the priorities of the government in the next session of the Parliament. Meanwhile, FICCI has said that restoration of investor confidence and establishment of ‘Brand India’ are the biggest achievements of the Narendra Modi government.

On global front, Asian shares mostly gained after China promoted an array of infrastructure projects as open to private investment and said it was slashing tariffs on imported clothing and other consumer goods. Investors lacked other cues, with markets in London and the U.S. closed for holidays on Monday. Back home, extending losses for the second straight day, the rupee depreciated 11 paise to 63.68 against the dollar in early trade on Tuesday at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market as the American currency firmed up overseas.

Back on street, stocks from Infrastructure, Teck and Metal counters were supporting the markets’ uptrend, while those from Power, Oil & Gas and FMCG counters were adding to the underlying cautious undertone. In scrip specific development, Shares of Igarashi Motors India have rallied after reporting a strong 71% year on year jump in net profit at Rs 17.04 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2015, on back of strong operational performance and lower interest cost. On the other hand, Shares of PTC India Financial Services have slipped after the company reported a sharp 66% year-on-year decline in net profit at Rs 15.81 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2015.

The market breadth on BSE was negative, out of 2056 stocks traded, 974 stocks advanced, while 990 stocks declined on the BSE.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27586.78, down by 57.10 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 27543.24 and 27675.94. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.04%, while Small cap index down by 0.01%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Infrastructure up by 0.63%, TECK up by 0.10% and Metal up by 0.03% while, Power down by 0.48%, Oil & Gas down by 0.40%, FMCG down by 0.38%, Consumer Durables down by 0.28% and Capital Goods down by 0.28% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were GAIL India up by 1.85%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.46%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.89%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.62% and SBI up by 0.61%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.78%, Sun Pharma down by 1.55%, NTPC down by 1.26%, Hindalco down by 1.26% and ONGC down by 1.05% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has expressed his confidence that Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime would come into force from April 2016. He said, 'GST bill is a constitutional amendment bill. We hope that all the formalities required for its adoption by Parliament and consent from half the states will be over for its proposed implementation from April 1, 2016.'

Earlier, Jaitley had said that the government could miss its deadline to implement a key tax law amid criticism of the pace of economic reforms after a year in office. But has now reiterated that government is going to make every effort to ensure that there is no delay and we meet the deadline. He added that passage of GST and the land acquisition bill would be the priorities of the government in the next session of the Parliament.

FM has said that GST Bill will lead to the economic integration of India and higher revenue for States, “The entire country will become one uniform market… and it will be an economic integration of India.” According to the Finance Minister, India will become one uniform market where there is a seamless transfer of goods and services. States’ share of revenue will go up and economic activity and growth will also improve.

The government got the 122nd Constitutional Amendment - Goods and Services Tax Bill in the Lok Sabha passed, but due to lack of majority in the upper house and constant opposition from Congress and few other parties, it referred the bill to select committee of the Rajya Sabha for further review. The government has set a deadline of April 1, 2016, for introducing the key GST, which will replace overlapping state and federal levies and create a common market to boost the economy.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8350.70, down by 19.55 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 8337.50 and 8378.90. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were GAIL India up by 1.77%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.33%, Lupin up by 0.97%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.94% and Grasim Industries up by 0.70%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 2.05%, Tata Motors down by 1.72%, Sun Pharma down by 1.49%, NTPC down by 1.27% and ONGC down by 1.08% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in the green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 0.34%, Nikkei 225 rose 0.07%, Taiwan Weighted gained 0.26%, Jakarta Composite surged 1.03%, Shanghai Composite soared 1.64% and Hang Seng was up by 1.42%. On the flip side, KOSPI Index decreased 0.46% and Straits Times was down by 0.01%.