Key gauges trade flat in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks were trading flat in morning deals, dragged lower by IT and TECK stocks and a weak trend in Asian markets. Some concern also came as think tank GTRI said that a proposed 5 per cent US tax on remittances sent abroad by non-citizens is raising alarm in India as it may hit Indian households and the rupee. However, traders took some support as the provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed foreign portfolio investors remained net buyers of Indian equities for the third straight day on Friday as they mopped up equities worth Rs 8,831.1 crore, the highest since March 27. Besides, India and the European Union (EU) chief negotiators have concluded another round of talks on the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) and agreed to reach a deal in two phases. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red as a mixed bag of Chinese economic data showed the domestic economy was struggling even as US tariffs began to bite into exports, while the White House kept up its rhetorical pressure on trade partners. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 82291.21, down by 39.38 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 82116.00 and 82424.10. There were 17 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.63%, while Small cap index was up by 0.92%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.54%, Healthcare up by 1.19%, Consumer Durables up by 0.71%, Auto up by 0.71% and Utilities up by 0.69%, while IT down by 0.62%, TECK down by 0.57% and Energy down by 0.03% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 0.69%, Tata Motors up by 0.67%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.64%, SBI up by 0.64% and Sun Pharma up by 0.60%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.26%, Eternal down by 1.26%, TCS down by 0.85%, Reliance Industries down by 0.73% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.63% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry has said that the government is developing a digital platform to enable the electronic submission of documents in trade remedy investigations with a view to further promoting transparency, efficiency, and ease of access for all stakeholders. These investigations are carried out by the commerce ministry's arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR).

It stated the platform is expected to go live soon, offering enhanced transparency, efficiency, and ease of access for all stakeholders. The main objective of the directorate is to protect sensitive sectors against the adverse impact of the trade liberalization like dumping and subsidy from any exporting country, by way of carrying out investigations in a time-bound manner.

The main functions of the DGTR include conducting anti-dumping, anti-subsidy/CVD (countervailing duty), and safeguard investigations. The finance ministry takes the final decision to impose these duties. In addition, DGTR, through its trade defence wing, has effectively contested the imposition of trade remedy measures by foreign trade remedy authorities. It said ‘These efforts have resulted in either reduced duties or complete relief from such measures on Indian exports, thereby protecting India's international trade interests.’

Since 1995, India has initiated over 1,200 trade remedy investigations and recent interventions have protected domestic sectors including solar energy and advanced materials, such as solar cells and copper wire rods, from unfairly priced imports and subsidized goods.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25023.75, up by 3.95 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 24965.80 and 25062.95. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Auto up by 2.78%, Eicher Motors up by 1.82%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.73%, Indusind Bank up by 1.00% and Bajaj Finance up by 0.81%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.30%, Eternal down by 1.30%, TCS down by 0.84%, Grasim Industries down by 0.75% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.62% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 280.52 points or 0.74% to 37,473.20, Taiwan Weighted lost 285.49 points or 1.31% to 21,558.20, Hang Seng declined 114.1 points or 0.49% to 23,230.95, KOSPI dropped 30.97 points or 1.18% to 2,595.90, Straits Times fell 6.44 points or 0.17% to 3,891.43 and Shanghai Composite weakened 3.02 points or 0.09% to 3,364.44.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite gained 17.97 points or 0.25% to 7,124.50.