Indian equity benchmarks continue weak trade in early noon session

Indian equity benchmarks continued their Weak trade in afternoon session, with Sensex and Nifty trading below at 39,600 and 11,900 levels, respectively. Traders were seen in selling position for Realty, Healthcare and Bankex stocks, while buying was witnessed in Capital Goods, Power and Utilities stocks. The mood on the street remained cautious with ICRA’s research report stating that the earnings released by 642 companies in the Indian corporate sector revealed that the revenue growth in the fourth quarter (January-March) of FY18-19 hit a six-quarter low at 10%. Traders shrugged off, Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) statement that it will infuse Rs 12,500 crore into the financial system through bond purchases on June 20. The decision has taken based on a review of the evolving liquidity conditions and assessment of the durable liquidity needs going forward. Meanwhile, Sebi has come out with a strict disclosure framework for credit rating agencies wherein they will be required to provide the probability of default for various rated instruments. The regulator’s move comes against the backdrop of rising instances of debt defaults and concerns over the role of credit rating agencies in assessing the possible risks. Credit rating agencies have also come under the scanner in the IL&FS case.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, ahead of key Chinese data that could provide more clues on how heavily the U.S.-Sino trade war is weighing on the economy, while oil prices were supported by supply concerns after attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Back on street, in scrip specific developments, shares of Jain Irrigation Systems are trading lower despite the company has asserted that it has not defaulted any of its debt obligations. Moreover, the company is confident of executing its plan to bring down its debt by Rs 2,000 crore through corporate action. Besides, Trent edged up on planning to raise funds via various means.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39566.76, down by 174.60 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 39537.09 and 39799.90. There were 9 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.54%, while Small cap index was down by 0.35%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 0.45%, Power up by 0.23%, Utilities up by 0.17%, Metal up by 0.12%, Industrials up by 0.06%, while Realty down by 1.95%, Healthcare down by 1.53%, Bankex down by 0.82%, Telecom down by 0.72% and Energy was down by 0.60% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 0.86%, Vedanta up by 0.74%, ONGC up by 0.68%, Power Grid Corporation up by 0.65% and NTPC was up by 0.48%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 3.36%, Sun Pharma down by 2.96%, Yes Bank down by 2.22%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 1.69% and Kotak Mahindra Bank was down by 1.44% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, submitting a white paper on Goods and Services Tax (GST) to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has urged for lowering GST rates on various items like auto parts and aluminium utensils etc. It also suggested to review items placed under different tax slabs under GST as many of the products are overlapping.

According to CAIT, various items like auto parts and aluminium utensils are not of luxurious nature should be taken out from 28 percent tax slab and may be put under lower tax slab. It also suggested to reduce the tax rate for items like hardware, mobile covers, ice cream, health drinks, paints, marble, used vehicles, and two wheelers.

The traders' body has also urged the Finance Minister to form GST Lokpal in each state and at the Centre so that a forum is provided to all traders to redress their concerns. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11852.90, down by 61.15 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 11845.35 and 11911.85. There were 12 stocks advancing against 38 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Infratel up by 1.14%, Larsen & Toubro up by 0.82%, ONGC up by 0.71%, Vedanta up by 0.68% and Power Grid Corporation up by 0.59%. On the flip side, Zee Entertainment down by 4.71%, Indusind Bank down by 3.32%, Indiabulls Housing down by 3.02%, Sun Pharma down by 2.99% and Yes Bank was down by 2.31% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; KOSPI fell 12.00 points or 0.57% to 2,091.15, Hang Seng decreased 179.20 points or 0.66% to 27,115.51, Jakarta Composite lost 22.30 points or 0.36% to 6,250.78, Taiwan Weighted dropped 35.34 points or 0.33% to 10,525.67, Straits Times trembled 0.66 points or 0.02% to 3,220.00 and Shanghai Composite was down by 8.32 points or 0.29% to 2,902.42.  on the other hand, Nikkei 225 was up by 68.44 points or 0.33% to 21,100.44.