Benchmarks extend losses; Nifty slips below 9050 mark

Indian equity benchmarks extended losses and continued to trade in red in noon session, with Nifty falling below the 9050 level, tracking weak global cues. The sentiments remained under pressure with US President Donald Trump's failure on healthcare reform which raised questions about his ability to push through tax cuts and fiscal spending to boost the economy. On the domestic front, investors shrugged off the report that government is planning to table four legislations for the implementation of the goods and services tax in the Lok Sabha today. The Union Cabinet has already cleared the four supplementary GST legislations - CGST, IGST, UTGST and Compensation Law - for introduction and passage in the ongoing session of Parliament. Meanwhile, PSU Bank gained traction after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley last week said that the government, in tandem with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is working on a radical proposal to resolve the issue of bad loans in the banking system.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower on Monday as caution among investors prevailed with lingering doubts about the future policy agenda of the new U.S. administration following the health care reform failure. President Donald Trump suffered a stunning political setback in a Congress controlled by his own party when Republican leaders pulled legislation to overhaul the US healthcare system, a major 2016 election campaign promise of the president and his allies. Further, Japan's Nikkei declined as the yen rebounded in the face of renewed US dollar weakness. In South Korea, the Kospi edged lower after South Korean prosecutors said they will seek a detention warrant for ousted President Park Geun-hye, who has been accused of taking bribes from big businesses. Meanwhile, Oil prices were broadly flat as investor concerns lingered that OPEC-led supply cuts were not yet reducing record US crude inventories.

Back home, stocks from Consumer Durables and Realty counters were supporting the markets, while those from Metal, Energy and Telecom counters were adding to the underlying cautious undertone. In scrip specific development, Nagreeka Exports surged after the company resumed work in Kolhapur Yarn Dying and Cotton Bleaching Division on March 18, 2017 and normal operation was commenced a few days back. On the other hand, Reliance Industries (RIL) declined after the market regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) directed the company to disgorge Rs 447.27 crore, made “unlawfully” by dealing in shares of its erstwhile subsidiary, Reliance Petroleum (RPL).

The market breadth remained pessimistic, as there were 1104 shares on the gaining side against 1263 shares on the losing side, while 190 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 29246.54, down by 174.86 points or 0.59% after trading in a range of 29243.47 and 29420.70. There were 5 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.20%, while Small cap index up by 0.07%.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.61%, Realty up by 0.19% and Capital Goods up by 0.02%, while Metal down by 2.02%, Energy down by 1.34%, Telecom down by 0.90%, Oil & Gas down by 0.80% and Healthcare down by 0.79% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 0.74%, Power Grid up by 0.52%, SBI up by 0.51%, Infosys up by 0.29% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 0.23%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 2.81%, Coal India down by 2.37%, Reliance Industries down by 2.04%, Sun Pharma down by 1.61% and Tata Motors down by 1.53% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, a joint study carried out by the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (Assocham) and Deloitte, has stated that the adoption of advanced business digital technologies would help India to accelerate business growth. It can lead to increase in revenues by up to 27%, increase in employment by up to 84% and can also enhance access to international markets by up to 65 per cent for small and medium business (SMBs).

In view of government’s several measures to improve ease of doing business in India, the study said that these initiatives have started to contribute to the improvement in ease of doing business and this is expected to further improve. It added that India is expected to boost investment in the digital space in the short-term which will lead to rise in digital innovation, efficiency and productivity in the long-term.

ASSOCHAM-Deloitte, in its study ‘Digital India: Unlocking the Trillion Dollar opportunity,’ further stated that the availability of digital infrastructure will help companies drive significant efficiencies, reduce time to market by digitizing their core operations and supply chain, reduce the travel need for businesses which will result in cost savings. Besides, using Digital infrastructure that is developed under the digital India program, city municipalities will be able to better manage the collection and disposal of solid waste and sewage. Several cities have started the deployment of pilot solutions for waste management in cities.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9049.40, down by 58.60 points or 0.64% after trading in a range of 9047.95 and 9094.85. There were 9 stocks advancing against 42 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 1.12%, Bank Of Baroda up by 0.89%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.84%, Bharti Infratel up by 0.74% and Power Grid up by 0.49%. On the flip side, Idea Cellular down by 3.69%, Tata Steel down by 2.96%, Hindalco down by 2.39%, Coal India down by 2.33% and Reliance Industries down by 2.09% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 declined 1.59%, Hang Seng decreased 0.44%, Taiwan Weighted slipped 0.26%, Jakarta Composite shed 0.36% and KOSPI Index was down by 0.59%. On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 0.2% and Shanghai Composite was up by 0.02%.