Benchmarks turn slightly into red in late afternoon session

Indian Benchmarks turned red again in late afternoon session on back of selling in pharma, metal and select FMCG stocks. Investors remained on sideline eyeing developments around the Goods and Services Tax or GST bill after states cleared the way for the central government to present it for approval of the Rajya Sabha or upper house of Parliament and though the State finance ministers agreed that a cap on the rate of GST will not be mentioned in the main bill, however disagreement between the Centre and states continued over administrative powers on assessment, scrutiny and adjudication of entities. Traders also remained concerned with RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan’s statement that governments should look beyond 'uninformed and motivated' public criticism and protect the independence of their central banks to ensure stable sustainable growth.

On global front, Asia markets were mostly higher as key meetings for global central banks loomed and Japanese shares got some relief on a weaker yen.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27902.52, down by 74.00 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 27899.93 and 28210.88. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.14%, while Small cap index added by 0.08%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 0.33%, Auto up by 0.15%, TECK up by 0.05% while, Metal down by 1.01%, Realty down by 0.86%, FMCG down by 0.49%, PSU down by 0.40% and Consumer Durables down by 0.37% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 2.23%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.69%, HDFC up by 0.74%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.65% and TCS up by 0.54%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 9.51%, Tata Steel down by 3.35%, Axis Bank down by 1.74%, Lupin down by 1.41% and Bajaj Auto down by 1.34% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to bring transparency and improve the quality of medical education in the country, a high-level panel headed by Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya is likely to suggested winding up of Medical Council of India (MCI) and replacing it with a National Medical Commission. The new body will act as the regulator and also advise the government on policy and curriculum preparation for medical colleges across India.

To bring in professionalism and world-class medical infrastructure, the new body will be assisted by 20-member National Medical Commission, comprising four independent boards, replacing MCI. These boards would be for an undergraduate medical Board, postgraduate board, Assessment and Rating Board and a board of medical register that will keep a record of people qualified to practise as doctors. Each of the four boards would be headed by a chairman and be fully autonomous in its functioning.

The biggest change under the new system would be that its members would be selected on merit by a high powered search-cum-selection panel and would not be elected, as in the past, by MCI. The selection process will be transparent and would ensure that the best of brains in the medical fraternity are members of the commission. To make such a structure operational, the Medical Council of India Act would have to be amended. The MCI is a statutory body with the responsibility of establishing and maintaining standards of medical education and recognition of medical qualifications in India. It registers doctors to practice in India.

The panel which is looking into the issue of poor regulation of medical education by MCI, apart from Panagariya also includes Prime Minister's Additional Principal Secretary PK Mishra, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and Health Secretary Bhahanu Pratap Sharma.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8578.75, down by 11.90 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 8573.05 and 8665.00. There were 22 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Infratel up by 3.40%, ICICI Bank up by 2.64%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.05%, Zee Entertainment up by 1.59% and Adani Ports &Special up by 1.00%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddys Lab down by 9.63%, Tata Steel down by 3.40%, Axis Bank down by 1.77%, Idea Cellular down by 1.44% and Lupin down by 1.38% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 1.27 points or 0.08% to 1,662.69, Taiwan Weighted was up by 38.6 points or 0.43% to 9,063.39, Jakarta Composite jumped 67.11 points or 1.28% to 5,291.50, Nikkei 225 surged 281.78 points or 1.72% to 16,664.82. On flip side, Shanghai Composite decreased 91.17 points or 2.99% to 2,958.99, Hang Seng declined 49.21 points or 0.22% to 22,080.52 and KOSPI Index was down 2.29 points or 0.11% to 2,025.05