Markets continue to trade in negative territory

Indian equity benchmarks continue to trade in red in afternoon session due to heavy selling in IT and Tech stocks. Sentiments were weighed down with the IT major Infosys first quarter (April-June) profit falling by 4.3 percent sequentially to Rs 3,440 crore due to weak operational performance. However, losses in the market remained capped with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) report that the June-September monsoon has so far delivered 4 percent higher rainfall than average. Some support came with hopes for smooth passage of much-awaited GST bill in the coming monsoon session of the parliament, after Congress leadership accepted the NDA government's invitation for further negotiations and discussion on alternative proposals on capping of the rate.

On global front, Asian stock markets climbed for a fifth-straight session after China released data showing the economy grew more than expected in the second quarter. China's GDP expanded 6.7 percent on year in the second quarter of 2016 as as expectation was 6.6 percent.

Back home, in scrip specific development, Tata Motors rose 3.15% to Rs.501 after the company announced that in its board meeting today it will consider raising up to Rs.400 crore via non convertible debentures.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27755.68, down by 186.43 points or 0.67% after trading in a range of 27735.87 and 28048.70. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.23%, while Small cap index fell by 0.42%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.20%, Consumer Durables up by 0.72%, Metal up by 0.50%, FMCG up by 0.21%, Oil & Gas up by 0.01% while, IT down by 5.37%, TECK down by 4.21%, Power down by 0.73%, PSU down by 0.51%, Realty down by 0.27% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 3.20%, Tata Motors up by 2.12%, Adani Ports &Special up by 2.10%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.92% and Cipla up by 1.07%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 8.87%, TCS down by 2.99%, Wipro down by 2.57%, NTPC down by 1.55% and ICICI Bank down by 1.16% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government has mobilized 3.1 tonnes of idle household and temple gold deposited under the monetisation scheme since its launch in November 2015. However, it’s much lower than 800-1,000 tonnes of annual gold import in which it is estimated that 300 tonnes are for investments, while the balance is jewellery.

The gold under monetisation scheme will facilitate its use for productive purposes, and in the long run, to reduce country’s reliance on the import of gold as well as to earn some regular interest on gold and save carrying costs. Under this scheme, banks are authorised to collect gold for up to 15 years to auction them off or lend to jewellers from time to time. Also depositors earn up to 2.50 per cent interest per annum.

All gold deposits under the scheme have to be made at Collection and Purity Testing Centres’ (CPTC). Currently, there are 46 assaying and hallmarking centres which are qualified to act as CPTC for handling gold under the scheme. Banks can also accept deposits at designated branches, especially from larger depositors.

India imports about 1,000 tonnes of gold every year and the precious metal is the second--highest component of the imports bill after crude oil. The gold monetisation scheme aims to mobilize around 20,000 tonne of idle gold lying with households and temples but not many households have shown interest in the schemes. So far, the government has collected much of the gold under the schemes from temple trusts with a major chunk coming from Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD).

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8515.15, down by 49.85 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 8510.05 and 8594.80. There were 30 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 3.16%, Bosch up by 2.18%, Tata Motors up by 2.13%, Adani Ports &Special up by 2.03% and Tata Motors - DVR up by 1.98%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 9.02%, TCS down by 3.09%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.89%, Wipro down by 2.48% and HCL Tech. down by 2.01% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading in green, Shanghai Composite increased 6.39 points or 0.21% to 3,060.41, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI surged 8.38 points or 0.51% to 1,663.16, KOSPI Index was high by 8.49 points or 0.42% to 2,017.26, Jakarta Composite rose 26.28 points or 0.52% to 5,109.82,Hang Seng increased 29.9 points or 0.14% to 21,590.96, Taiwan Weighted climbed 83.49 points or 0.94% to 8,949.85 and Nikkei 225 jumped 111.96 points or 0.68% to 16,497.85