Markets hold gains; Nifty hovers around 9,600 mark

Following firm European markets, Indian equity benchmarks held their gains in late afternoon session as sentiments buoyed by the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which came into force from July 1. Investors remained optimistic with CII’s statement that the GST rollout will impart major competitiveness to Indian industry, incentivise exports and help expand the tax net. It further said that going forward, GST will contribute to ease of doing business and accelerate new business ventures. Some support also came with the Moody's Investors Service latest report that the new tax regime will be positive for India’s rating as it will lead to higher government revenue generation and improve the country’s economic growth. Traders paid no heed to the report stating that manufacturing activity in India fell to a four-month low in June amid softer rise in factory new orders. The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)-a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance-slipped to 50.9 in the month of June as against 51.6 in the month of May.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green, starting the new month on a stronger footing with oil stocks and banks leading a broad-based bounce from lows hit last week on worries over tightening monetary conditions. Asian markets were also trading in green. Back home, in scrip specific development, DB Realty traded higher after the company’s subsidiary - Neelkamal Realtors Tower has entered into a development management agreement with Indo Global Soft Solutions and Technologies (Indo), a Radius Group Company and which is a Sanjay Chhabria Venture for the development of its Orchid Heights Project on land admeasuring 19,434.10 square meters bearing C.S. No. 1906, Byculla Division, Jacob Circle, Mahalaxmi in Mumbai.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 31174.31, up by 252.70 points or 0.82% after trading in a range of 31017.11 and 31258.33. There were 20 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.86%, while Small cap index was up by 0.93%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 3.40%, Telecom up by 1.64%, Metal up by 1.59%, Basic Materials up by 1.51% and Realty up by 1.24%, while Power down by 0.02% were the only losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 5.90%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.76%, Coal India up by 1.64%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.60% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.36%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 1.48%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.80%, Wipro down by 0.70%, Sun Pharma down by 0.63% and Tata Motors down by 0.60% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, signaling weaker improvement in the health of the sector, manufacturing activity in India fell to a four-month low in June amid softer rise in factory new orders. The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)-a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance-slipped to 50.9 in the month of June as against 51.6 in the month of May. However, the reading remained above the 50 level that separates growth from contraction for a sixth straight month on the back of ongoing increases in client demand.

According to the survey data, the challenging economic conditions, water shortages and the upcoming implementation of the goods & services tax (GST) hampered on the growth of the sector. Further, it said that growth of total order books eased to a four-month low, with the intermediate goods category the key source of weakness. Besides, payroll numbers and purchasing activity witnessed marginal increment in the month of June. The survey also pointed that ongoing growth of buying levels, though the rate of expansion has softened from May.

In the month of June, input costs continued to increase, however, the rate of inflation was modest and the weakest since August 2016. Similarly, output charges rose only slightly, at a below-trend pace. Besides, confidence towards future performance was mixed among the survey participants. While the new tax system is anticipated by some firms to generate more business, others expect the GST will have a negative impact on their businesses.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9599.80, up by 78.90 points or 0.83% after trading in a range of 9543.55 and 9618.00. There were 35 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ITC up by 5.95%, Bharti Infratel up by 4.61%, Hindalco up by 3.06%, Eicher Motors up by 2.33% and Vedanta up by 1.81%. On the flip side, HCL Tech down by 1.97%, NTPC down by 1.67%, Sun Pharma down by 0.82%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.75% and Cipla down by 0.66% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 0.6 points or 0.03% to 1,764.27, KOSPI Index increased 2.69 points or 0.11% to 2,394.48, Shanghai Composite increased 3.49 points or 0.11% to 3,195.91, Taiwan Weighted increased 17.72 points or 0.17% to 10,412.79, Hang Seng increased 19.59 points or 0.08% to 25,784.17, Nikkei 225 increased 22.37 points or 0.11% to 20,055.80 and Jakarta Composite increased 40.94 points or 0.7% to 5,870.65.

All European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 29.72 points or 0.41% to 7,342.44, France’s CAC surged 53.57 points or 1.05% to 5,174.25 and Germany’s DAX was up by 84.78 points or 0.69% to 12,409.90.