Bourses continue weak trade in late afternoon session

The Indian equity benchmarks were trading flat with a negative bias in late afternoon session. Traders were seen piling up positions in Basic Materials, Consumer Durables and Healthcare sectors, while selling was witnessed in Energy, Telecom and Auto sectors' stocks. Traders ignored that investment through participatory notes (P-notes) in the domestic capital market rose to Rs 92,261 crore till the end of June, making it the highest level in 37 months. This marks the third consecutive monthly rise in the investment through the route. Traders took note of report that Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has abolished the requirement of periodic renewals of Licence/Registration issued to Customs Brokers and Authorised Carriers. This would greatly help reduce the compliance burden cast on the trade, which had to otherwise make application and submit numerous documents to renew their licenses/registrations.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red led by Hong Kong after Beijing at the weekend further cracked down on China's tech firms, while education companies were hammered as the government unveiled sweeping reforms of the sector. European markets were trading lower after regulatory concerns knocked Asian markets lower, while automakers retreated following a strong showing last week.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 52,901.15, down by 74.65 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 52783.63 and 53103.42. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.31%, while Small cap index was up by 0.51%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Basic Materials up by 0.94%, Consumer Durables up by 0.94%, Healthcare up by 0.73%, Metal up by 0.70% and IT was up by 0.33%, while Energy down by 0.80%, Telecom down by 0.49%, Auto down by 0.48%, Oil & Gas down by 0.47% and Power was down by 0.40% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 2.24%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.72%, Tata Steel up by 1.57%, Titan Company up by 1.52% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.10%. On the flip side, SBI down by 1.22%, Reliance Industries down by 0.95%, HDFC down by 0.88%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.81% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.81% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in a relief, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has abolished the requirement of periodic renewals of Licence/Registration issued to Customs Brokers and Authorised Carriers. This would greatly help reduce the compliance burden cast on the trade, which had to otherwise make application and submit numerous documents to renew their licenses/registrations.

As per the notification, the net effect of the amendments carried out to the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2018 and Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations, 2018, is that the existing licenses/registration would have a lifetime validity.

Another change that has been introduced is to allow a licensee/registration holder to voluntarily come forward to surrender his license/registration if s/he wishes. Also, a provision has been made to invalidate licences/registrations that are inactivity for more than a year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15,839.25, down by 16.80 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 15797.00 and 15893.35. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finserv up by 2.26%, Hindalco up by 2.13%, Divi's Lab up by 1.81%, Tata Steel up by 1.67% and Ultratech Cement up by 1.63%. On the flip side, JSW Steel down by 1.51%, SBI down by 1.22%, Indian Oil down by 1.08%, BPCL down by 0.94% and Reliance Industries down by 0.92% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red, Hang Seng decreased 1129.66 points or 4.13% to 26,192.32, Taiwan Weighted dropped 169.36 points or 0.96% to 17,403.56, Shanghai Composite declined 82.96 points or 2.34% to 3,467.44, KOSPI fell 29.47 points or 0.91% to 3,224.95 and Straits Times was down by 22.26 points or 0.71% to 3,134.79. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite soared 4.70 points or 0.08% to 6,106.39 and Nikkei 225 was up by 285.29 points or 1.04% to 27,833.29.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 30.98 points or 0.44% to 6,996.60, France’s CAC decreased 43.81 points or 0.67% to 6,525.01 and Germany’s DAX was down by 102.24 points or 0.65% to 15,567.05.