Sensex, Nifty remain lower in late morning session

Indian equity benchmarks remained lower in late morning session, despite positive cues from other Asian markets. Traders were negative, amid a private report stating that Indian manufacturers are running out of capacity to absorb rising input costs, with an increasing number passing it along to consumers in an economy already grappling with Asia’s third-fastest inflation and an uneven recovery.

However, markets managed to stage some recovery, after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman has said that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) staying in the country and creating jobs and prospects, and not the outflow of Foreign Institute Investors (FIIs) and Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs), should be assessed to measure robustness of the Indian economy. She added that India continues to remain the highest receiver of the FDI.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green, after the private sector in Singapore continued to expand in March, and at a faster rate, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Tuesday with a PMI score of 52.9. That's up from 52.5 in February, and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Output growth in Singapore's private sector continued in March, supported by a strong expansion in demand, albeit both slowing from February. Sub-sector data showed the real estate & business services sector saw the strongest expansion in activity over March.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60385.52, down by 226.22 points or 0.37% after trading in a range of 60227.36 and 60786.07. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.77%, while Small cap index was up by 1.37%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 2.01%, Utilities up by 1.57%, Auto up by 1.46%, Power up by 1.45% and Industrials up by 1.34%, while Bankex down by 0.72%, Realty down by 0.63% and Metal down by 0.03% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan Co up by 2.22%, NTPC up by 1.28%, TCS up by 1.26%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.06% and Nestle up by 1.05%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 2.76%, HDFC down by 1.97%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.26%, Reliance Industries down by 1.11% and Bajaj Finance down by 1.08% were the top losers.

Meanwhile,Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary has said that COVID-19 medicines and instruments are being sold at a Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate of 5 per cent while other medicines are sold at a GST rate between 5 and 12 per cent ever since the pandemic started. He also said that 66 per cent of government-sponsored health insurance schemes in the country are being run by the central government. He said when the COVID-19 pandemic started, a decision was made for sale of all medicines at the GST rate between 5 and 12 per cent and the GST rate for COVID-19 related medicines and instruments has been reduced to 5 per cent.

The minister said the GST rate for health insurance is 18 percent, which is as per international standards, and similar to what it was during pre-GST days in the country. He said senior citizens can avail tax rebate of up to Rs 1 lakh on health insurance policies. He said GST rates and exemptions on all services (including GST on health insurance premium) are prescribed on recommendations of the GST Council which is a constitutional body comprising Union Finance Minister and ministers as nominated by respective state and union territory governments.

He said at present, GST on health insurance services is levied at standard rate, i.e., 18 per cent. Specific health insurance schemes catering to the needs of economically weaker sections of the society and differently abled, such as Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), Universal Health Insurance Scheme, Jan Argoya Bima Policy and Niramaya Health Insurance Scheme are fully exempt from GST. Further, he said, healthcare services are also exempt from the GST. Representations to reduce the GST on health insurance were placed before the GST Council in its 31st meeting held on December 22, 2018 and in its 37th meeting held on September 20, 2019.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18015.75, down by 37.65 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 17961.10 and 18089.70. There were 34 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports & SEZ up by 3.27%, Eicher Motors up by 3.23%, Tata Motors up by 2.72%, Titan Co up by 2.40% and Grasim Industries up by 1.76%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 2.79%, HDFC down by 1.85%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.39%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.26% and Reliance Industries down by 1.14% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in green; Nikkei 225 surged 46.81 points or 0.17% to 27,783.28, Jakarta Composite soared 7.16 points or 0.1% to 7,123.38. KOSPI rose 0.87 points or 0.03% to 2,758.77 and Straits Times advanced 10.27 points or 0.3% to 3,427.24.