Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty – ended Thursday’s trading session in negative terrain with marginal losses amid monthly F&O expiry. Index made gap down opening, amid foreign fund outflows. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold stocks worth Rs 5,130.90 crore in the cash market on July 24. Renewed concerns over an unexpected increase in short and long-term capital gains taxes continue to keep underlying sentiment cautious. Traders overlooked Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra’s statement that the direct tax slabs rejig announced in the Union Budget amounting to savings of Rs 17,500 for the middle class along with an increase in the rebate limit to Rs 7 lakh in the new tax regime last year is ‘sufficient’ relief over a period of two years. In afternoon session, index trimmed some of its losses, but remained red territory, as traders were cautious with a private report stating that foreign investors sold nearly $1 billion worth of Indian equities in the two days since the government raised taxes on derivatives trades and on capital gains from equity investments in its annual budget. In last leg of trade, index managed to recover from its earlier losses, but ended just below its neutral line.
Traders were seen piling up positions in Auto, Pharma and Media stocks, while selling was witnessed in Metal, Private Bank, and Consumer Durables. The top gainers from the F&O segment were Syngene International, United Breweries and Tata Motors. On the other hand, the top losers Axis Bank, AU Small Finance Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services. In the index option segment, maximum OI continues to be seen in the 24400 - 24600 calls and 23900 - 24100 puts indicating this is the trading range expectation.
