Key indices continue to trade with traction in noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade with traction in noon deals amid firm global cues. Sentiments remained upbeat with report that the Union Cabinet has given green signal to a maiden export policy for the farm sector that imposes no restrictions on export of all organic and processed products. Buying in banking, FMCG and auto counters too provided some strength to markets, while selling witnessed in stocks related to oil and gas and utilities spaces. Buying in Infosys, ITC and Maruti Suzuki also lifted the sentiments. Firm leads from Asian peers too supported sentiments with all the Asian markets trading in green at this point of time as investors grappled with shifting indications on US-China trade talks and prospects for a pause in Federal Reserve tightening. Back home, Recovery in Indian Rupee too aided sentiments. The rupee opened 35 paise higher at 70.55 against the US dollar amid fall in oil prices ahead of the crucial OPEC meet outcome, due later in the day. The domestic unit on Thursday depreciated by 44 paise to close at 70.90.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 35500.68, up by 188.55 points or 0.53% after trading in a range of 35415.71 and 35553.46. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.12%, while Small cap index was down by 0.20%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 1.22%, FMCG up by 0.64%, Auto up by 0.58%, Realty up by 0.49% and Consumer Disc was up by 0.44%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.73%, Utilities down by 0.71%, PSU down by 0.41%, IT down by 0.12% and Consumer Durables was down by 0.09% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 10.15%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.91%, Asian Paints up by 1.85%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.47% and Infosys up by 1.35%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 1.26%, Yes Bank down by 1.01%, Wipro down by 0.74%, Power Grid Corporation down by 0.60% and SBI down by 0.54% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, amid problems being faced by traders in filing annual goods and services tax (GST) return, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said it has urged finance minister Arun Jaitley to extend the last date for filing annual GST return from December 31, 2018 to March 31, 2019. It also urged that format should be made available in regional languages. It further said that the format of filing of annual GST return is not available anywhere including the GST website. Actually, the option itself is not available.

It underlined that under such circumstances it will not be possible for the traders to file their annual GST return by the stipulated period and as an immediate measure. Besides, it noted that the concept is till unclear to a large number of traders and most are not even aware of the obligation of filing annual GST return. It also urged that format should be made available in regional languages.

Moreover, CAIT added that they are unaware that annual return is the last opportunity for assessees to rectify their previously filed return with the department for the concerned year. This would help avoid any denial of input tax credit which in turn could also be resulted into unwanted tax recovery.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10651.80, up by 50.65 points or 0.48% after trading in a range of 10615.80 and 10655.75. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 10.33%, Zee Entertainment up by 2.30%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.13%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.09% and Asian Paints up by 1.84%. On the flip side, HCL Tech. down by 5.18%, GAIL India down by 3.67%, Yes Bank down by 1.07%, Indiabulls Housing down by 0.95% and NTPC down by 0.86% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading in green; Nikkei 225 surged 177.06 points or 0.82% to 21,678.68, Taiwan Weighted increased 76.16 points or 0.78% to 9,760.88, Straits Times gained 8.38 points or 0.27% to 3,123.90, Jakarta Composite rose 18.47 points or 0.3% to 6,133.96, Hang Seng jumped 18.84 points or 0.07% to 26,175.22, KOSPI added 7.07 points or 0.34% to 2,075.76 and Shanghai Composite was up by 0.97 points or 0.04% to 2,606.15.