Benchmarks continue to trade marginally in red

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade marginally in red in morning deals, weighed down by index heavyweights Adani Ports &SEZ, ITC and Infosys. Some concern also came amid constant foreign fund outflows. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,329.79 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Traders took a note of report that corporate affairs ministry underscored the need for a ‘continuous refinement’ in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to address future challenges in corporate recast effectively. Meanwhile, on a mission to simplify access to quality agricultural & horticulture seeds, Government e Marketplace (GeM) has revamped & introduced 170 Seed categories on the portal. Created ahead of the upcoming cropping season, the newly populated categories feature nearly 8,000 seed varieties that can be procured by Central/State PSUs and other governing bodies for further dissemination across the country. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed due to persisting Middle East tensions and uncertainty surrounding the closely contested U.S. presidential election. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 78696.91, down by 85.33 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 78455.66 and 78906.41. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.35%, while Small cap index was up by 0.18%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Basic Materials up by 0.83%, Metal up by 0.82%, Auto up by 0.29% and Bankex up by 0.08%, while Capital Goods down by 0.60%, Healthcare down by 0.58%, Energy down by 0.47%, TECK down by 0.41% and Realty down by 0.38% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 2.44%, JSW Steel up by 2.11%, Tata Steel up by 2.11%, Tata Motors up by 1.61% and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.38%. On the flip side, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 2.79%, ITC down by 0.96%, Infosys down by 0.93%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.69% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.53% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to review the various aspects of the Income Tax Act 1961, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has chaired a meeting with Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra, Secretary, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman Ravi Agarwal, and senior CBDT officials. The finance ministry said that Malhotra informed the Finance Minister that 22 specialised sub-committees have been established to review the various aspects of the Income Tax Act to review the various aspects of the Income Tax Act.  

These committees have actively engaged in numerous meetings 'both in person and via VC' with domain experts to collaboratively explore and recommend improvements to the Act. The ministry added the income tax department has received 6,500 suggestions from stakeholders over the past month on review of the Income Tax Act. 

Last month, the CBDT's internal committee invited public inputs for review of the six-decade-old I-T Act with regard to simplification of language, litigation reduction, compliance reduction, and obsolete provisions. Pursuant to the Budget announcement by Sitharaman for a comprehensive review of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the CBDT had set up an internal committee to oversee the review and make the Act concise, clear, and easy to understand, which will reduce disputes, litigation, and provide greater tax certainty to taxpayers.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23953.70, down by 41.65 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 23908.65 and 24037.20. There were 23 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 2.26%, Tata Steel up by 2.20%, JSW Steel up by 2.16%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.74% and Tata Motors up by 1.69%. On the flip side, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 2.79%, Coal India down by 2.72%, Trent down by 2.32%, Apollo Hospital down by 1.62% and HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.53% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Nikkei 225 surged 490.54 points or 1.29% to 38,544.21, Taiwan Weighted added 70.71 points or 0.31% to 23,036.10, Hang Seng advanced 255.84 points or 1.23% to 20,823.36 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 59.49 points or 1.77% to 3,369.70.

On the global front, KOSPI dropped 11.78 points or 0.46% to 2,577.19, Straits Times fell 3.01 points or 0.08% to 3,569.03 and Jakarta Composite plunged 19.91 points or 0.27% to 7,459.59.