Bourses trim most of gains in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets trimmed most of their gains in late afternoon session and currently traded at day’s low points. Traders were cautious after private report stated that new IT rules drafted last year may create entry barriers affecting ease of doing business in India. Some concerned also came amid report that Industry and trade chambers have voiced concern at some of last week’s decisions of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, such as taxing hospital room tariffs and bringing unbranded packaged consumer items within the tax net. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) has written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, seeking zero rate GST for health care services to enable service providers to claim input tax credit (ITC).

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green after reports emerged that the United States may decide to cut some tariffs on Chinese imports in an effort to tame record-high inflation. European markets were trading lower as a strike by Norwegian oil and gas workers exacerbated worries about an energy shock in Europe and added to concerns over red-hot inflation.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 53290.96, up by 56.19 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 53255.97 and 53865.93. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.07%, while Small cap index was up by 0.48%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.83%, Healthcare up by 0.44%, Power up by 0.43%, Utilities up by 0.40% and Basic Materials was up by 0.40%, while Auto down by 0.39%, IT down by 0.34%, TECK down by 0.32%, Oil & Gas down by 0.21%, Consumer Durables down by 0.19% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 1.36%, Power Grid up by 1.16%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.01%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.97% and Tata Steel up by 0.91%. On the flip side, ITC down by 1.59%, Wipro down by 1.22%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.06%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.01% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.90% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, India’s service sector activity expanded further in the month of June at fastest pace, on the back of further accelerations in growth of new business and output at Indian services companies amid ongoing improvements in demand conditions.

As per the survey report, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index surged to 59.2 in June from 58.9 in May. Further, the S&P Global India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services -- however marginally fell to 58.2 in June from 58.3 in May.

The report noted a substantial upturn in new work intakes at the end of the first fiscal quarter, with the rate of increase improving to the best in over 11 years. On the inflation front, input costs continued to rise at a historically elevated pace, although one that was the slowest in three months, while charge inflation hit a near five-year high.

According to the report, unrelenting inflation continued to concern businesses, who were cautiously optimistic about the year-ahead outlook for business activity. The overall level of sentiment was well below its long-run average as only 9% of companies forecast output growth.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15843.25, up by 7.90 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 15840.00 and 16025.75. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 2.23%, Apollo Hospital up by 1.51%, Shree Cement up by 1.39%, Sun Pharma up by 1.21% and Power Grid up by 1.12%. On the flip side, ITC down by 1.59%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.58%, Wipro down by 1.20%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.13% and Britannia down by 1.01% were the only losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Nikkei 225 surged 269.66 points or 1.03% to 26,423.47, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 132.14 points or 0.93% to 14,349.20, Jakarta Composite soared 64.10 points or 0.97% to 6,703.27, KOSPI rose 41.44 points or 1.8% to 2,341.78 and Hang Seng was up by 22.72 points or 0.1% to 21,853.07. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 1.40 points or 0.04% to 3,404.03 and Straits Times was down by 18.94 points or 0.61% to 3,101.30.

European markets were trading lower, UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 68.14 points or 0.94% to 7,164.51, France’s CAC decreased 60.77 points or 1.02% to 5,893.88 and Germany’s DAX was down by 100.27 points or 0.78% to 12,673.11.