Benchmarks trim some gains in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks trimmed some gains in morning deals, ahead of monthly F&O expiry later in the day. Investors also remained on sidelines ahead of the Goods and Services Tax Council meeting to be held of August 02. The agenda is expected to include a final decision on the proposed 28 per cent GST on online gaming, casinos and horse racing. However, traders took some support with a private report stating that private sector banks reported a robust 37.0 per cent year-on-year (YOY) growth in net profit to Rs 37,683 crore in the first quarter ended June 2023 on healthy growth in net interest income (NII) and strong credit offtake. Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has permitted 20 banks operating in the country to open 92 Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVAs) of partner banks from 22 countries including Bangladesh, Belarus, Botswana, Fiji, Germany, Guyana and Israel, as part of efforts to promote bilateral trade in local currencies. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green after a well-flagged US rate rise delivered no major surprises, although policymakers in Europe and Japan could pose risks for markets with their own interest rate decisions. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 66790.56, up by 83.36 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 66723.48 and 66984.17. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.71%, while Small cap index was up by 0.52%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 2.02%, Metal up by 0.69%, PSU up by 0.66%, Realty up by 0.64% and Industrials up by 0.52%, while Auto down by 1.12%, Oil & Gas down by 0.23%, Consumer Durables down by 0.11%, FMCG down by 0.08% and Energy down by 0.03% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 1.44%, Sun Pharma up by 1.34%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.03%, Tata Steel up by 0.88% and SBI up by 0.85%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 6.80%, Tech Mahindra down by 4.76%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.99%, NTPC down by 0.30% and Nestle down by 0.26% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, which is expected to meet on August 2, 2023, will finalise draft rules on taxing online gaming, casinos, and horse racing. The council representing finance ministers of states will take a final call on whether the tax will be levied on entry-level or on each bet. 

In its 50th meeting earlier this month, the Council headed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman decided to levy the maximum 28 per cent tax on the full face value of bets in online gaming, casinos and horse racing.

The decision of the Council evoked criticism from the online gaming industry. Following this, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that GST Council should reconsider its decision. Chandrasekhar had said ‘We are still in the early stages of developing a sustainable and permissible online gaming framework. Once this framework is established, we will approach the GST Council and request their reconsideration based on the new regulatory guidelines.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19815.35, up by 37.05 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 19798.35 and 19867.55. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Cipla up by 8.64%, Divi's Lab up by 1.63%, Hindalco up by 1.58%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.54% and Bajaj Finserv up by 1.47%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 6.64%, Tech Mahindra down by 4.69%, Tata Consumer Product down by 1.21%, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.98% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.96% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 97.69 points or 0.57% to 17,260.24, Hang Seng advanced 263.89 points or 1.34% to 19,629.03, Shanghai Composite strengthened 14.1 points or 0.44% to 3,237.13, KOSPI increased 17.72 points or 0.68% to 2,610.08, Straits Times rose 21.93 points or 0.66% to 3,326.89 and Nikkei 225 surged 241.69 points or 0.73% to 32,910.03.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite plunged 7.8 points or 0.11% to 6,940.48.