Indian indices remain weak in early afternoon deals

Indian equity benchmarks remained weak during early afternoon deals, with both Sensex and Nifty were trading lower amid mixed cues from other Asian markets along with selling at Banking and Realty counters. Traders were cautious as Arvind Subramanian, former chief economic advisor of India, said that the inclusion of petroleum in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime would be a bad idea, as it is not politically advisable to ask states to give up more sovereignty. Besides, Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for drone components is a kickstarter for the sector to progress and should not be considered as a permanent subsidy from the government.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed, after Japan's household spending logged an unexpected decline in May as higher prices weighed on consumption. The data released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications revealed that household spending declined 1.8 percent on a yearly basis, confounding expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent. Spending had advanced 0.5 percent in April, which was the first growth in 14 months. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79840.65, down by 209.02 points or 0.26% after trading in a range of 79478.96 and 79876.25. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose by 0.57%, while Small cap index was up by 0.84%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.61%, Industrials up by 1.52%, PSU up by 1.33%, Oil & Gas up by 1.24% and Healthcare up by 1.16%, while Bankex down by 0.62%, Realty down by 0.42%, Consumer Durables down by 0.32% and Auto down by 0.09% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 1.58%, SBI up by 1.30%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.18%, Reliance Industries up by 1.16% and ITC up by 1.04%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 4.31%, Titan down by 2.00%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.29%, Tata Steel down by 0.74% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.66% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, unveiling 80% concession for women entrepreneurs and 50% for MSMEs in licensing fees for licenses granted by Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal has directed PESO to formulate guidelines in consultation with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) for creating a template of safety measures allowing retail outlets of petrol pumps to function in cases where there is habitation within 30-50 metres.

Union Minister directed that a committee will be formed to study if a licence for explosives, transport and manufacturing can be given for ten years; a committee will examine the issue regarding increasing the validity of licence to 10 years as all licences except for explosives are given for a duration of ten years. To further streamline processes, the Minister directed that efforts must be made to involve Third Party Inspection Agencies (TPIAs) in more areas. He said that online permission modules will be developed by PESO for few areas which are yet offline. Goyal further directed that the process for filling up vacancies in PESO must be expedited.

Meanwhile, Goyal chaired a Stakeholder Consultation in New Delhi to solicit insights and feedback from Petroleum, Explosives, Fireworks and other related industry leaders, aimed at enhancing efficiency in the functioning of PESO. He stated that the compliance of the Petroleum and Explosives Industry must be balanced with public safety. The Stakeholder Consultation was convened by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24278.60, down by 23.55 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 24168.85 and 24288.85. There were 37 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 3.86%, Divi's Lab up by 2.31%, Cipla up by 2.08%, Britannia up by 1.75% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.61%. On the flip side, HDFC Bank down by 4.34%, Titan down by 2.00%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.20%, Tata Steel down by 0.74% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.64% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Hang Seng declined 180.04 points or 1.01% to 17,848.24, Shanghai Composite weakened 6.44 points or 0.22% to 2,951.13, Straits Times fell 27.55 points or 0.81% to 3,412.33 and Nikkei 225 slipped 1.28 points or 0% to 40,912.37, while Jakarta Composite gained 30.23 points or 0.42% to 7,251.12, KOSPI increased 37.29 points or 1.3% to 2,862.23 and Taiwan Weighted added 34.06 points or 0.14% to 23,556.59.