Benchmarks erase gains to trade in red

Indian equity benchmarks erased early gains and started trading in red in late morning session, on account of selling in frontline blue chip counters. The rupee opened higher against dollar on account of selling of American currency by banks and exporters. Foreign Portfolio Investors stood net buyers in domestic equity markets on Monday and bought shares worth Rs 1,454 crore with gross purchases and gross sales of Rs 5,833.55 crore and Rs 4378.89 crore, respectively. Traders took note that while above normal rains has raised hopes of a bumper harvest this year, in the wake of supply crunch, prices of vegetables such as tomato, peas and beans have surged sharply over the last one week in Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh. Telecom stocks were under pressure after telecom group GSMA said that the disruptive pricing due to heightened competition in the Indian telecom space would continue for at least another year and the situation is no different from other markets where carriers were cutting tariff to beat competition. Jio’s entry in September last year on the back of freebies has dragged the earnings of telcos for three consecutive quarters. Auto stocks were buzzing on reports that the Maharashtra government decided to increase tax on the registration of all new vehicles by 200 basis points. Mixed reactions were witnessed in pharma stocks after ICRA in its report highlighted that Indian pharmaceutical industry is likely to witness moderation in growth in the next three years mainly due to decline in revenues from the US, its largest overseas market, and increased competition. The agency added that already 21 leading players’ overall aggregate revenues grew only by 7.4 per cent in FY 2017 as against 10.1 per cent posted in FY 2016.

Traders were seen piling up position in Energy, Oil & Gas and Metal stocks, while selling was witnessed in Healthcare, Capital Goods and Consumer Durables sector stocks. In scrip specific development, cable TV and broadband services provider GTPL Hathway was trading slightly in green after making a quite debut on BSE, as the scrip got listed at its issue price of Rs 170. GTPL’s IPO was subscribed merely 1.53 times during the offer period between June 21 and 23.

On the global front, Asian shares were trading in red. The KOSPI dropped and the South Korean won stumbled after reports that North Korea had launched a missile that could land in Japanese exclusive economic zone. South Korean President Moon Jae-in called a meeting of the National Security Council in response. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading below the psychological 9,650 and 31,200 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1150:991, while 104 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 31191.25, down by 30.37 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 31174.24 and 31353.46. There were 9 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.23%, while Small cap index was down by 0.01%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.08%, Oil & Gas up by 0.70%, Metal up by 0.31%, Basic Materials up by 0.16% and PSU up by 0.06%, while Healthcare down by 0.56%, Capital Goods down by 0.49%, Consumer Durables down by 0.46%, Auto down by 0.44% and Telecom down by 0.42% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 1.71%, NTPC up by 1.05%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.87%, ONGC up by 0.85% and Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone up by 0.45%.

On the flip side, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 1.49%, Wipro down by 1.48%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.38%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.07% and Axis Bank down by 1.03% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, NITI Aayog has said that the government will soon come out with the policy on the fee being charged for different digital payment methods. Niti Aayog has submitted a research report on measurement of digital payments -- trends, issues and challenges to the government. As per the report, one of the main issue impacting digital transactions is the fee on digital payment. The report also noted that digital payments through RTGS, NEFT and debit cards attract different charges.

Besides, NITI Aayog’s principal advisor Ratan P Watal has stated that currently, the government is evaluating these charges and will soon come out with suitable policy suggestions. He also said that in the report, they have also recommended that the data on digital payments should be disseminated at a disaggregated level. He pointed out that presently, the digital payments data is only available at an aggregate level, therefore making it difficult to analyse the growth and effectiveness of individual digital payment technologies.

Watal further said that NITI Aayog has proposed a classification for disaggregation - according to service provider, payment instruments, payment destination, user, value, area, etc. He also said that they are working with the RBI towards data dissemination in such a metric format. Meanwhile, the government set up the Committee on Digital Payments under the chairmanship of Watal to suggest ways to encourage India’s movement towards a cashless economy.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9606.90, down by 8.10 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 9603.75 and 9650.65. There were 20 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Reliance Industries up by 1.88%, BPCL up by 1.48%, Bharti Infratel up by 0.99%, NTPC up by 0.96% and Tata Power up by 0.87%.
On the flip side, Indiabulls Housing Finance down by 2.28%, Wipro down by 1.73%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 1.66%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.06% and Bajaj Auto down by 0.98% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading in red; Hang Seng decreased 448.56 points or 1.74% to 25,335.61, Taiwan Weighted decreased 47.41 points or 0.46% to 10,365.38, Jakarta Composite decreased 38.75 points or 0.66% to 5,871.49, Nikkei 225 decreased 27.79 points or 0.14% to 20,028.01, Shanghai Composite decreased 19.48 points or 0.61% to 3,176.44, KOSPI Index decreased 16.39 points or 0.68% to 2,378.09 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI decreased 4.97 points or 0.28% to 1,763.70.