Markets remain strong; Realty, Metal lead

Indian equity benchmarks remained in green territory in late morning session, on value buying by investors. Sentiments remained optimistic with Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya’s statement that resolution of bad loans in the banking system is on right track and will open the door to rapid credit expansion and growth. Some support also came with the report that foreign investors have pumped in over Rs 10,000 crore in the Indian debt markets this month so far, following the RBI's decision to cut key interest rates. Traders also took some encouragement with Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal’s statement that the number of tax slabs in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime would be reduced with improvement in revenue. Investors paid no attention to India's industrial production data which entered the negative territory in June. India’s industrial output contracted by 0.1% in the month of June 2017, as compared to an expansion of 8% in the previous year-ago period, also lower than 2.8% growth in May.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, as fears fuelled by spiralling North Korean tensions showed tentative signs of easing and safe haven assets lost momentum. Back home, in scrip specific development, Ganesha Ecosphere gained after the company received an approval to raise funds by way of issue of Equity Shares including Convertible Bonds/ Debentures through Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) and/ or Depository Receipts and / or bank borrowings and/ or any other modes for an amount not exceeding Rs 250.00 crore. The Board of Directors of the Company at their meeting held on August 12, 2017 has approved the same.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 31448.15, up by 234.56 points or 0.75% after trading in a range of 31298.90 and 31472.92. There were 24 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.83%, while Small cap index was up by 2.03%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 4.11%, Metal up by 2.49%, Consumer Durables up by 2.40%, Basic Materials up by 1.99% and Power up by 1.68%, while Telecom down by 0.40% and TECK down by 0.09% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Cipla up by 5.49%, Tata Steel up by 3.13%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.74%, HDFC up by 2.69% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.56%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.36%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.67%, Infosys down by 0.65%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 0.40% and Wipro down by 0.36% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal has said that the number of tax slabs in the newly-introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime may be reduced only after the revenue collections improve. He also noted that the GST currently has five tax slabs including exempted category at zero, five, 12, 18 and 28 percent.

Defending the multiple tax slabs, Meghwal has said that the central government was trying to introduce the new tax system with the consent of states and did not want to impose it. He also said that the Centre could have taken decisions in the GST Council on the basis of the majority but that was not done. Adding further, he pointed out that while in pre-GST regime only 80 lakh dealers were registered, another 13.2 lakh had been added after the implementation of it. He also noted that out of which 56,000 were from West Bengal only, the highest among in India.

Describing the GST Network (GSTN) as a ‘perfect system’, the minister further said that “We must be facing some teething problems but it is a perfect system.” He mentioned that the new system will remove inspector raj and there will be no human interface and added that the government will improve the GSTN system.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9786.65, up by 75.85 points or 0.78% after trading in a range of 9752.10 and 9793.55. There were 37 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Cipla up by 5.50%, Tata Steel up by 3.14%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.97%, Vedanta up by 2.96% and Eicher Motors up by 2.92%. On the flip side, BPCL down by 2.63%, Bosch down by 2.31%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.40%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.86% and Infosys down by 0.68% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 3.56 points or 0.2% to 1,770.52, KOSPI Index increased 15.24 points or 0.66% to 2,334.95, Jakarta Composite increased 23.19 points or 0.4% to 5,789.33, Shanghai Composite increased 27.98 points or 0.87% to 3,236.52 and Hang Seng increased 268.37 points or 1% to 27,151.88.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 decreased 195.71 points or 0.99% to 19,534.03 and Taiwan Weighted decreased 104.29 points or 1.01% to 10,225.28.