Indian bourses trade marginally lower in afternoon deals

Indian equity indices, altering between positive and negative territory, were now trading marginally in red in afternoon session on account of selling in frontline blue chip counters. The sentiments remained lackluster with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry’s (FICCI) statement that India’s slowing economic growth is of serious concern and the country needs to urgently cut tax and interest rates to revive the economy. The economy grew 6.6 per cent in the three months to December - the slowest pace in five quarters. Some pessimism also came in with a report that weakness in consumer spending and softening commodity prices have led India Inc. to deliver a six-quarter low revenue growth of 10.7 per cent for January-March period. Moreover, the rupee depreciating by 14 paise to 69.65 against the dollar in early trade, too weighed on the sentiments. On the sectoral front, Airline sector remained in focus with report that the civil aviation ministry will focus on developing new airports, enhancing regional connectivity and training hub for people in the sector.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, following up on a positive performance by European shares overnight as investors breathed a sigh of relief over populists' failure to take over the European parliament after weekend elections. Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39637.83, down by 45.46 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 39576.93 and 39785.02. There were 19 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.21%, while Small cap index was up by 0.28%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.25%, IT up by 1.12%, Metal up by 1.04%, TECK up by 0.83% and Utilities was up by 0.80%, while Telecom down by 1.40%, Capital Goods down by 1.00%, Bankex down by 0.55% and Industrials was down by 0.23% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 3.82%, Coal India up by 1.76%, Reliance Industries up by 1.46%, Infosys up by 1.27% and TCS was up by 1.15%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 1.96%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.81%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.43%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.41% and Kotak Mahindra Bank was down by 1.08% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in order to boost shipments in the wake of the US-China trade war, the commerce and industry ministry is considering a major export promotion scheme to ensure expeditious refund of all un-rebated central and state levies and taxes imposed on inputs that are consumed in exports of all sectors. The proposal is part of new government's 100-day action plan prepared by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), an arm of the ministry, which will take office on May 30.

A new export promotion scheme could be named as Central and State Taxes and Levies Scheme. The new scheme has become necessary as the existing merchandise exports for India (MEIS) scheme is being opposed by the US in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Major un-rebated levies are - state VAT/ central excise duty on fuel used in transportation, captive power, farm sector; mandi tax; duty of electricity; stamp duty on export documents, purchases from unregistered dealers; embedded CGST and compensation cess coal used in the production of electricity.

Initiatives by Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu has helped in taking exports to a new high of $331 billion in 2018-19. The ministry has also proposed to introduce a WTO compliant production-based support scheme to increase outbound shipments. The department of commerce is consulting with all the concerned stakeholders to frame this scheme to promote high potential sectors like electronics, telecom, hi-tech engineering, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and technical textiles.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11908.90, down by 15.85 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 11891.55 and 11958.55. There were 25 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 3.78%, Zee Entertainment up by 3.20%, JSW Steel up by 2.02%, Hindalco up by 1.87% and Coal India was up by 1.68%. On the flip side, Bharti Infratel down by 3.42%, HDFC down by 2.04%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.88%, Grasim Industries down by 1.85% and Larsen & Toubro was down by 1.63% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 77.56 points or 0.37% to 21,260.14, Hang Seng increased 62.63 points or 0.23% to 27,350.72, Shanghai Composite gained 9.86 points or 0.34% to 2,902.24 and KOSPI was up by 4.62 points or 0.23% to 2,048.83.

On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 6.12 points or 0.19% to 3,164.65, Jakarta Composite lost 20.07 points or 0.33% to 6,078.90 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 21.82 points or 0.21% to 10,312.31.