Weakness persist in markets; Nifty below 9,900 mark

Indian benchmark indices trimmed some of their early losses but continued to trade in red in afternoon session due to selling in frontline blue chip stocks such as Realty, FMCG and IT. The mood on the street remained cautious with disappointing earnings by the Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest software services exporter whose quarterly profit fell 10 percent sequentially, while revenues declined 0.2 percent. However, the fall in wholesale price index based inflation to 0.9 percent in June from 2.17 percent in May, prevented the market from falling further. The fall in WPI as well as CPI inflation raised hopes for rate cut by RBI in August monetary policy. In scrip specific development, GVK Power and Infrastructure jumped over four and half percent after successfully completing the sale of its residual stake of 10% in Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) for a consideration of Rs 1,290 crore.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, as investors awaited a raft of corporate earnings due out next week. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 31988.17, down by 49.21 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 31897.87 and 32109.75. There were 12 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.01%, while Small cap index was down by 0.35%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 0.81%, Telecom up by 0.39%, Bankex up by 0.16%, Utilities up by 0.15% and Consumer Durables up by 0.08%, while Realty down by 0.55%, FMCG down by 0.55%, IT down by 0.51%, Industrials down by 0.46% and Capital Goods down by 0.46% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.63%, SBI up by 1.14%, Sun Pharma up by 0.92%, Hero MotoCorp up by 0.70% and Cipla up by 0.66%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.92%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 1.50%, ITC down by 1.05%, Coal India down by 0.91% and Wipro down by 0.79% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC) has clarified that importers, exporters and customs brokers of goods that are exempted from Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, do not require to obtain a GST registration number. It also said that they can clear their consignments by mentioning PAN in the bills of entry or shipping bills. The customs department issued the clarification amid reports of some consignments being delayed at ports for want of clarity on rules governing the new tax regime.

The Goods and Services Taxpayer Identification Number (GSTIN) is a 15 digit unique code which is allotted to each business entity which registers with the commercial tax department. It replaces Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) - the unique 11 digit number allotted to each business entity which was registered with the commercial tax department in the previous indirect tax regime.

CBEC has stated that post of the rollout of GST from July 1, there have been some confusion over requirement of GSTIN for clearance of consignments at ports. It noted that the Central GST Act exempts businesses engaged exclusively in the supply of goods (import and export) which are exempt from GST from obtaining registration under the new indirect tax regime. Besides, Directorate of International Customs (DIC) has been set up on July 1 which will assist the CBEC in international matters pertaining to customs, integrated GST and tariff matters.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9870.60, down by 21.10 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 9845.45 and 9913.30. There were 19 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Aurobindo Pharma up by 4.03%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.62%, SBI up by 1.19%, Bank of Baroda up by 1.04% and Sun Pharma up by 0.90%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.90%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 1.84%, Indian Oil Corp. down by 1.56%, Eicher Motors down by 1.25% and Coal India down by 1.06% were the top losers.

The Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Jakarta Composite decreased 17.97 points or 0.31% to 5,812.08, Taiwan Weighted shed 16.24 points or 0.16% to 10,443.91, Hang Seng was down by 13.06 points or 0.05% to 26,333.11, Shanghai Composite dipped 4.07 points or 0.13% to 3,214.09 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 0.42 points or 0.02% to 1,753.36.

On the flip side, KOSPI Index increased 5.14 points or 0.21% to 2,414.63 and Nikkei 225 was up by 19.05 points or 0.09% to 20,118.86.