Indian bourses continue to trade under pressure

Tracking regional indices, Indian bourses were trading under selling pressure in afternoon session, on the back of sustained selling activities by market-participants. Sentiments remained downbeat with the central bank’s statement that the total external commercial borrowings (ECB) will now be rule-based and will be capped at 6.5% of the gross domestic product. The limit now works out to be about $160 billion for the current fiscal year, against the actual outstanding of $126.29 billion as on September 30. The mood of the markets remain impacted with report stating that Parliamentary Committee has expressed concern over the huge losses suffered by some Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs) and the low rate of return on assets and pressed the urgent need for optimum utilisation of their assets to generate better earnings. The key indices also suffered due a sinking rupee which slipped 32 paise to quote at 70.02 against the US dollar so far in intra-day trade.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, as the threat of a US government shutdown and of further hikes in US borrowing costs inflamed investor unease over the economic outlook. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36074.72, down by 356.95 points or 0.98% after trading in a range of 35981.58 and 36483.49. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 1.09%, while Small cap index was down by 0.63%.

The only gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Metal up by 0.12%, while IT down by 1.38%, TECK down by 1.37%, Realty down by 1.33%, Auto down by 1.17% and Consumer Disc down by 1.17% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 1.73%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 1.40%, NTPC up by 0.87%, Tata Steel up by 0.29% and Coal India up by 0.24%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.67%, Infosys down by 2.08%, Asian Paints down by 1.93%, ICICI Bank down by 1.56% and Bajaj Auto down by 1.46% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has said that Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) will soon set up a committee of experts comprising members from IITs, IIMs to address the taxation issues being faced by startups and angel investors. It also said that no coercive action or measures to recover the demands of completed assessment under income tax would be taken against such firms.

CBDT has stated that a decision on issues relating to recognition of these startups including the issue of premium among others will be taken on the basis of recommendations of a committee of eminent experts. It also said that the committee of experts will make recommendations on individual cases of recognised startups. It added that in this regard, a notification by the DIPP will be issued shortly.

CBDT is committed to promotion of Startups in India and it recognises that the Startups are going to bring lot of innovation to the country and therefore, have to be supported in every possible manner. Several startups have raised concerns on the taxation of angel funds under Section 56 of the Income Tax Act, which provides for taxation of funds received by an entity.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10836.20, down by 115.50 points or 1.05% after trading in a range of 10808.40 and 10963.65. There were 7 stocks advancing against 43 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 1.42%, NTPC up by 0.84%, HPCL up by 0.82%, Coal India up by 0.48% and Tata Steel up by 0.29%. On the flip side, Indian Oil Corp. down by 5.41%, UPL down by 3.45%, Bharti Infratel down by 2.82%, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.63% and Infosys down by 2.14% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Straits Times trembled 8.24 points or 0.27% to 3,042.38, Shanghai Composite declined 32.11 points or 1.27% to 2,504.16, Nikkei 225 slipped 226.39 points or 1.11% to 20,166.19 and Jakarta Composite was down by 18.16 points or 0.3% to 6,129.72.

On the flip side, Hang Seng increased 78.77 points or 0.31% to 25,702.30, KOSPI rose 1.37 points or 0.07% to 2,061.49 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 2.15 points or 0.02% to 9,676.67.