Markets trade flat; Nifty below 9900 mark

Indian equity benchmarks traded flat in late afternoon session, as anxiety spread among the investors with Asian Development Bank's (ADB) statement that the goods and services tax is expected to boost growth in the medium term, however there may be some teething pains as firms adjust to the new system. Besides, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the government is considering to change the country's financial year to January-December from April-March. Meanwhile, index heavyweight Bharti Airtel fell over 2% after Mukesh Ambani launched Jio Phone in RIL's 40th AGM while Idea Cellular also tumbled. However, the markets erased their most of losses in noon deals with taking support from the private report that strong import growth in June points to continued recovery in India's domestic demand and also indicating that economic expansion will accelerate from the April-June quarter. Besides, investors' sentiments were buoyed by earnings results. Meanwhile, foreign investment in Indian real estate sector jumped more than two-fold at $7.6 billion during 2014-16 period compared with the previous three years.

On the global front, European markets were trading with modest gains, as investor attention switched from the European Central Bank's policy decisions a day earlier to a raft of quarterly corporate earnings reports. The European Central Bank (ECB) opted to leave its benchmark interest rate and multi-billion euro asset purchase scheme unchanged. However, Asian markets were trading in red. Back home, in scrip specific development, Dr. Reddy’s was trading in green after US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) completed audit of the company’s API Cuernavaca plant at Mexico with Zero observation. .

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 31891.78, down by 12.62 points or 0.04% after trading in a range of 31808.93 and 32062.23. There were 12 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.21%, while Small cap index was down by 0.31%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.49%, IT up by 1.19%, Consumer Durables up by 0.71%, TECK up by 0.60% and Oil & Gas up by 0.29%, while Telecom down by 1.89%, Realty down by 1.44%, Metal down by 0.98%, Power down by 0.94% and Capital Goods down by 0.86% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Wipro up by 6.88%, Reliance Industries up by 3.00%, Coal India up by 1.39%, TCS up by 0.93% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 0.76%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 3.04%, Lupin down by 2.27%, NTPC down by 2.00%, Power Grid Corporation down by 1.51% and Cipla down by 1.36% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal has said the coal cess will contribute to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation fund meant to compensate states for five years for loss of revenue from implementation of GST.

Goyal also mentioned that along with the coal cess, cess on other products like pan masala, tobacco, aerated water would also be the part of GST Compensation Fund. The Power and Coal Minister further said that after five years, any amount left would be shared on 50 per cent basis between Centre and States.

Under the GST regime, the government has decided to continue the coal cess at Rs 400 per tonne, while aerated drinks purchased from nearby shops will become more expensive, with the GST rate applicable being 28 per cent, along with a 12 per cent additional cess.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9867.50, down by 5.80 points or 0.06% after trading in a range of 9838.00 and 9919.85. There were 21 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Wipro up by 6.78%, Reliance Industries up by 2.95%, HCL Tech. up by 1.93%, Coal India up by 1.63% and Zee Entertainment up by 1.20%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 3.03%, Lupin down by 2.28%, Indiabulls Housing Finance down by 2.17%, Vedanta down by 1.76% and NTPC down by 1.57% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted decreased 62.66 points or 0.6% to 10,436.70, Jakarta Composite decreased 51.36 points or 0.88% to 5,773.85, Nikkei 225 decreased 44.84 points or 0.22% to 20,099.75, Hang Seng decreased 34.12 points or 0.13% to 26,706.09 and Shanghai Composite decreased 6.88 points or 0.21% to 3,237.98. On the flip side, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 1.51 points or 0.09% to 1,757.14 and KOSPI Index increased 8.22 points or 0.34% to 2,450.06.

All European markets were trading in green; France’s CAC increased 4.31 points or 0.08% to 5,203.53, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 13.48 points or 0.18% to 7,501.35 and Germany’s DAX increased 15.96 points or 0.13% to 12,463.21.