Bourses trade near neutral lines with negative bias

Indian bourses were trading near their neutral lines in late afternoon session with negative bias, mirroring weak European markets. Domestic sentiments got hit after the government detected Rs 20,000 crore worth GST evasion so far this fiscal and will take more steps to check frauds and increase compliance. Adding worries among the traders, the Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu expressed concern over the recent incidents of indiscretion, mismanagement and greed that ruined many business organisations and individual reputation as he stressed up on the need to incorporate business ethics and values as an important and integral element of management education. On the sectoral front, most of the realty companies stocks were trading higher, with credit rating agency Moody's latest report showing that the reduction in GST is credit positive for India's property developers because the reduction in tax will boost demand and increase sales of properties under construction.

On the global front, European markets were trading in red, as Austria's manufacturing growth slowed in February to its lowest level in over three years, driven by a sharp fall in new export orders and slower growth in output and employment. The survey data from IHS Markit showed that the headline UniCredit Bank Austria Manufacturing purchasing managers' index, or PMI, fell to 51.8 in February from 52.7 in January.  Asian markets were also trading in red, as caution prevailed ahead of a crucial meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 35965.83, down by 7.88 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 35735.33 and 36371.11. There were 15 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.44%, while Small cap index was up by 0.14%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.11%, Basic Materials up by 0.61%, Industrials up by 0.54%, Auto up by 0.47% and Healthcare up by 0.37%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.36%, Telecom down by 0.35%, Bankex down by 0.26%, FMCG down by 0.21% and Oil & Gas down by 0.20% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Auto up by 1.97%, Sun Pharma up by 1.81%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.49%, TCS up by 1.42% and Axis Bank up by 1.41%. On the flip side, Tata Motors - DVR down by 2.64%, Tata Motors down by 2.38%, Vedanta down by 2.24%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.65% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.44% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to boost exports and identify specific problems that are effecting industries and hampering production and exports, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu has discussed the preparation of a strategy and an action plan with representatives of pharma and chemicals industries along with chairmen of Pharmexcil and Chemexcilin.

Prabhu said that the ministry recognized certain issues that need to be addressed for enhancing exports in the chemical sector and promised to take up all the issues with other Ministries and Departments of Government of India. Minister elaborated that expansion of Interest Equalization Scheme needs to be done by adding more tariff lines, the process of environmental clearance to be speeded up especially relating to product mix and also expeditious approval process. He said there is also a need for the removal of pre-import condition for advance authorization (with prospective effect).

Further, Commerce Minister underlined that Commerce Ministry supports pharma exports through its schemes of reimbursement of product registrations abroad up to Rs 50 lakh per year- this ceiling has been enhanced recently to Rs 2 crore per year with additional components, which will encourage exporters to register and sell more products in new and potential markets.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10814.25, down by 21.05 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 10751.20 and 10939.70. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Ultratech Cement up by 2.57%, Sun Pharma up by 1.87%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.60%, UPL up by 1.57% and Axis Bank up by 1.42%. On the flip side, Bharti Infratel down by 3.33%, Wipro down by 3.01%, Tata Motors down by 2.49%, Vedanta down by 2.36% and Hindustan Unilever down by 2.01% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Shanghai Composite gained 12.30 points or 0.42% to 2,953.82, KOSPI rose 8.19 points or 0.37% to 2,234.79 and Nikkei 225 surged 107.12 points or 0.5% to 21,556.51. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite dropped 12.91 points or 0.2% to 6,528.04, Hang Seng decreased 57.82 points or 0.2% to 28,714.24, Taiwan Weighted dropped 2.38 points or 0.02% to 10,389.17 and Straits Times was down by 14.38 points or 0.44% to 3,247.28.

All European markets are trading in red; FTSE lost 53.70 points or 0.75% to 7,097.42, CAC fell 20.05 points or 0.38% to 5,218.67 and DAX was down by 74.18 points or 0.64% to 11,466.61.