Benchmarks erase most of the gains on selling in bluechips

Indian equity markets have erased most of the gains in the afternoon session on account of selling in frontline blue chip counters and tracking weakness in global markets, as investors turned cautious after an influential U.S. Federal Reserve official said interest rates could rise as soon as September. Besides, domestic sentiment remained dampened with discouraging macroeconomic data as wholesale inflation soared to a 23-month high of 3.55 per cent in July, making investors trim their positions. Some comfort came with report that Indirect tax collection rose by about 30.8 percent during April-June to Rs 1,99,970 crore, from Rs 1,52,740 crore collected in the year-ago period. Meanwhile, traders were seen piling up position in Metal, PSU, Auto, Realty and Banking stocks, on the other hand selling was witnessed in IT, Tech, Power and Capital Goods. In scrip specific development, Tata Power Company rose after its Singapore-based subsidiary Tata Power International Pte completed sale of its 50 percent stake in OTP Geothermal Pte to KS Orka Renewables for $30 million.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, after leaders approved a plan to give foreign investors more access to Chinese equities through Hong Kong.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 28067.44, up by 2.83 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 28024.36 and 28174.30. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.64%, while Small cap index was up by 0.69%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.00%, PSU up by 0.92%, Auto up by 0.87%, Realty up by 0.86% and Bankex up by 0.50%, while IT down by 0.87%, TECK down by 0.59%, Power down by 0.19% and Capital Goods down by 0.03% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Coal India up by 2.97%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.87%, Tata Steel up by 2.64%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.88% and Axis Bank up by 1.82%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.72%, Asian Paints down by 0.98%, Infosys down by 0.96%, Power Grid Corpn. down by 0.87% and GAIL India down by 0.67% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to promote less cash economy and curb the circulation of black money, the government has decided to bear the transaction cost for all payments made to it through debit or credit cards and net banking. At present times, the cost of transaction, which is commonly known as the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR), has to be borne by the customers when a payment is made to the government.

The Finance Ministry has issued the circular in pursuance of the decision of the government to promote credit/digital transactions in government payments and collections. The government has also said that the methodology for reimbursement of such payment to intermediaries on transactions involving debt/credit cards or digital means is being worked out and the detailed guidelines and operational modalities would be issued in due course.

The circular said that government departments shall take appropriate steps to bear MDR (Merchant Discount Rate) cost like other merchants so the public shall not bear any MDR cost for making payment to the government through debit cards or credit cards or digital means. In 2012, the Reserve Bank of India had capped the MDR for debit card transaction at 0.75% for transaction values up to Rs 2,000 and at 1% for transaction values above Rs 2,000. However, there is no RBI cap on MDR on credit card payments. The government had earlier set up a task force under the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management Secretary Neeraj Gupta. The Task Force on promotion of payments through cards and digital means has flagged issues with respective government departments.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8640.60, down by 1.95 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 8626.55 and 8657.60. There were 26 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 3.02% , Hero MotoCorp up by 2.99% , Tata Steel up by 2.60% , Aurobindo Pharma up by 1.98% and Axis Bank up by 1.76%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.73%, Ambuja Cement down by 1.50%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.32%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.25% and Asian Paints down by 1.11% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed, Taiwan Weighted increased 7.34 points or 0.08% to 9,117.70, Hang Seng increased 47.9 points or 0.21% to 22,958.74, Jakarta Composite increased 51.29 points or 0.96% to 5,371.85 and Nikkei 225 increased 149.13 points or 0.9% to 16,745.64. On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 5.26 points or 0.31% to 1,694.63, KOSPI Index decreased 4.01 points or 0.2% to 2,043.75 and Shanghai Composite decreased 0.17 points or 0.01% to 3,109.87.