Sensex, Nifty turn negative in late afternoon session

The local benchmarks turned negative in late afternoon session, amid selling in Banking, Basic Materials and Metal stocks, despite higher opening in European markets. Traders remained on sidelines ahead of November derivatives expiry. Sentiments were pessimistic with the private report stating that both goods and services tax (GST) collections as well as its compliance in the first four months since the rollout of the new tax regime remain well be below the target, and the situation is unlikely to improve in the near- term. Some concerns also came with the latest missile test by North Korea. However, losses were limited with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies and a happening place with immense opportunities in a number of areas. Separately, ministry of finance said that India’s news Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) ordinance, promulgated by the President, will pave the way for clean business by putting a premium on integrity.

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in green, helped by news of a Brexit deal between the European Union and the UK and despite reports of a new North Korean missile test. Asian markets were also trading in green. Back home, in scrip specific development, IL&FS Engineering & Construction Company touched the roof after reporting a net profit of Rs 40.14 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2017, as against a net loss of Rs 81.59 crore for the same quarter in the previous year.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 33608.01, down by 10.58 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 33592.42 and 33728.81. There were 18 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.17%, while Small cap index was up by 0.05%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.43%, Telecom up by 0.41%, Consumer Durables up by 0.34%, Healthcare up by 0.27% and Energy up by 0.24%, while Bankex down by 0.36%, Basic Materials down by 0.34%, Metal down by 0.34%, Power down by 0.28% and Utilities down by 0.25% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Coal India up by 1.49%, Wipro up by 1.26%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 0.92%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 0.74% and Bajaj Auto up by 0.65%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 2.18%, HDFC down by 1.27%, SBI down by 0.81%, TCS down by 0.76% and Asian Paints down by 0.64% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, raising serious concern of a whopping six million jobs loss in the garment sector if urgent remedial measures were not taken, the garment exporters have demanded the restoration of duty drawback and Remission of State Levies (ROSL) rates to pre-goods and services tax (GST) levels. Ready-made garment exports dipped about 40 percent to $829.44 million in October.

Before the GST roll out, the average duty drawback that they were getting was 11.5 percent and the Remission of State Levies (ROSL) was an average of 3.5 percent. After the new indirect tax regime implementation, the average drawback has come down to 2.25 percent from 11.5 percent. Garment exporters alleged that the government was making it difficult for them to run their businesses and they had to incur additional compliance costs due to the ‘tardy implementation’ of the GST.

The exporters demanded speedy conclusion of a free trade agreement with Europe for India to regain its export competitiveness, as the industry had to pay 9.8 percent duty for shipping to Europe. They also demanded clarity on the e-wallet mechanism, full refund of blocked taxes and that fabric and other inputs be made available to the garment industry at lower rates. Besides, the country’s exporters are facing intense competition from countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam, due to lower competitiveness.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10363.30, down by 6.95 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 10359.10 and 10392.95. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bosch up by 5.42%, Coal India up by 1.57%, Bharti Infratel up by 1.46%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.27% and Wipro up by 1.03%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 2.27%, Hindalco down by 1.44%, UPL down by 1.26%, HDFC down by 1.23% and Eicher Motors down by 1.23% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 3.46 points or 0.2% to 1,717.88, Shanghai Composite increased 4.21 points or 0.13% to 3,337.86, Taiwan Weighted increased 6.48 points or 0.06% to 10,713.55 and Nikkei 225 increased 110.96 points or 0.49% to 22,597.20. On the flip side, Hang Seng decreased 57.02 points or 0.19% to 29,623.83, Jakarta Composite decreased 14.09 points or 0.23% to 6,056.63 and KOSPI Index decreased 1.29 points or 0.05% to 2,512.90.

European markets were trading mostly in green; France’s CAC increased 24.5 points or 0.45% to 5,414.98 and Germany’s DAX increased 89.13 points or 0.68% to 13,148.66. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 36.11 points or 0.48% to 7,424.54.