Benchmarks continue to trade in red zone

Indian equity benchmarks are trading in red zone with weak cues from other Asian markets and foreign fund outflow. Profit booking in frontline blue chip stocks such as Mahindra & Mahindra, Vedanta, Tata Steel and Hero MotoCorp pulled the markets lower. Metal, Auto and Utilities were amongst the top losers on the BSE sectoral space. Meanwhile, depreciation in Indian rupee too dampened sentiments. Some pessimism also spread amongst investors as the GST collection dropped to Rs 94,726 crore in December raising worries over government revenues taking a hit and further delaying rationalising of GST slabs. Besides, anxiety remained on the street with report penning that the Indian manufacturing activity expanded at a slower pace in December as growth in new orders and output waned, despite factories cutting their prices. The Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by IHS Markit, declined to 53.2 in December, below November's 54.0 reading.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in red on account of factory activity weakened across Asia in December as the Sino-U.S. trade war and a slowdown in Chinese demand hit production in most economies, strengthening the case for a pause in interest rate hikes in the region in 2019. Back on street, broader indices were trading in mixed note with the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.22%, while Small cap index was up by 0.06%. On scrip specific development, shares of Eicher Motors slipped on reporting 13% fall in sales at 58278 units in December 2018 as compared to 66968 motorcycles sold in December 2017. On the other flip side, Bajaj Auto stocks surged on registering a rise of 18% in total sales to 346,199 units in December 2018 against 292,547 units in December 2017.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36174.64, down by 79.93 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 36035.78 and 36236.70. There were 8 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green and red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.22%, while Small cap index was up by 0.06%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.99%, TECK up by 0.79%, Consumer Durables up by 0.18% and Realty was up by 0.12% , while Metal down by 2.03%, Auto down by 1.69%, Utilities down by 0.87%, Oil & Gas down by 0.82% and Consumer Disc was down by 0.77% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 1.40%, Infosys up by 1.13%, Yes Bank up by 0.95%, ICICI Bank up by 0.73% and Sun Pharma was up by 0.44%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.61%, Vedanta down by 3.34%, Tata Steel down by 2.28%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.89% and Tata Motors - DVR was down by 1.72% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to provide some relief to taxpayers, the government has come up with the new annual Goods and Services Tax (GST) return forms. The new forms are required to be filed by businesses registered under the GST regime by June 30, 2019.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has notified form GSTR-9 is the annual return form for normal taxpayers, GSTR-9A is for composition taxpayers and GSTR-9C is a reconciliation statement. In the annual return forms, businesses have to provide consolidated details of sales, purchases and input tax credit (ITC) benefits accrued to them during the 2017-18 fiscal.

Trade and industry bodies had raised several objections on the GST annual return filing forms, which were earlier notified in September last year. Following this, the CBIC has notified the new forms. Initially, the due date for filing the annual return form was set at December 31, 2018. In view of industry concerns, the government then extended the date till March 31, 2019. The GST Council in its recent meeting on December 22, 2018, has decided to extend the due date further to June 30, 2019.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10875.15, down by 34.95 points or 0.32% after trading in a range of 10839.30 and 10895.35. There were 14 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were TCS up by 1.53%, Infosys up by 1.12%, Yes Bank up by 0.95%, Titan up by 0.78% and Bharti Infratel was up by 0.78%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 6.38%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.65%, Vedanta down by 3.32%, JSW Steel down by 3.22% and Hindalco was down by 2.40% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in red, Hang Seng decreased 719.97 points or 2.79% to 25,125.73, Taiwan Weighted dropped 173.27 points or 1.78% to 9,554.14, Straits Times trembled 36.95 points or 1.2% to 3,031.81, KOSPI fell 34.69 points or 1.7% to 2,006.35. Shanghai Composite declined 31.83 points or 1.28% to 2,462.07 and Jakarta Composite was down by 16.47 points or 0.27% to 6,178.03.