Indian equities continue to exhibit weakness in afternoon deals

Indian benchmark indices continued to trade in red in early afternoon session, tracking weak Asian markets on fresh concerns of trade war between world two biggest economies, US and China. The mood of the markets remained impacted with RBI Governor Urjit Patel flagging the risks to macroeconomic stability from a potential currency war in the wake of rising global trade tensions. Traders also remained cautious with a report stating that Goods and services tax (GST) collection rose in July but stayed well below the government’s target of Rs 1 trillion for a third month in succession of the current financial year (starting April 1). Traders overlooked a report that RBI has maintained its growth outlook for the economy, estimating the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to grow at 7.4% in 2018-19. It noted that GDP growth would range between 7.5-7.6% in H1 and 7.3-7.4% in H2.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in red, tracking losses overnight on Wall Street, where investors sold industrial stocks following reports that the Trump administration is considering a higher tax rate on Chinese imports. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 37341.70, down by 179.92 points or 0.48% after trading in a range of 37229.99 and 37529.69. There were 12 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.46%, while Small cap index was up by 0.16%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 1.70%, Consumer Durables up by 0.38%, Metal up by 0.38%, PSU up by 0.23% and Power up by 0.21%, while Realty down by 1.20%, Telecom down by 1.07%, Auto down by 0.58%, Bankex down by 0.58% and Energy down by 0.48% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 1.68%, Sun Pharma up by 1.52%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.21%, Indusind Bank up by 1.18% and Tata Motors - DVR up by 1.08%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.52%, Yes Bank down by 1.41%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.31%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.29% and Reliance Industries down by 1.21% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, revenue collection under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) during the month of July 2018 increased to Rs 96,483 crore, as compared to previous month’s revenue collection of Rs 95,610 crore, on the back of improved compliance of the e-way bill, which has been made mandatory for moving goods worth over Rs 50,000 from one State to another.

According to the Finance Ministry data, out of the Rs 96,483 crore, Central GST (CGST) was Rs 15,877 crore, State GST (SGST) Rs 22,293 crore, Integrated GST (IGST) Rs 49,951 crore (including Rs 24,852 crore collected on imports) and cess Rs 8,362 crore. It added that this is broadly on expected lines. It also noted that as many as 66 lakh businesses filed returns in the month of July, making it the highest number of monthly GSTR-3B filed since the rollout of GST in July last year.

The Ministry has stated that despite a rise in revenue collection in July, the mop-up is still lower than the government’s monthly target of Rs 1 lakh crore. The 2018-19 budgeted estimate for GST collection is Rs 12 lakh crore.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11293.00, down by 53.20 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 11263.55 and 11328.90. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 2.09%, HPCL up by 2.05%, Lupin up by 2.03%, Sun Pharma up by 1.71% and BPCL up by 1.69%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.74%, HCL Tech. down by 1.50%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.40%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.39% and Tech Mahindra down by 1.34% were the top losers.

All the Asian markets were trading in red; Taiwan Weighted decreased 168.36 points or 1.54% to 10,929.77, KOSPI dipped 36.87 points or 1.62% to 2,270.20, Nikkei 225 shed 234.17 points or 1.04% to 22,512.53, Straits Times dropped 40.79 points or 1.24% to 3,288.22, Jakarta Composite fell 6.79 points or 0.11% to 6,026.63, Hang Seng was down by 648.64 points or 2.34% to 27,692.10 and Shanghai Composite decreased 60.27 points or 2.18% to 2,764.26.