Markets remain flat with a negative bias

Markets continue to trade in red after a soft start, though the momentum of the losses has slowed down and the major indices are consolidating near their crucial support levels, making attempts to break the barrier. There is some support from the capital goods and power sector stocks that is trying to pull back the markets into green. The surge in rupee too was encouraging the equity markets after it turned to more than seven months high. However, some of the Oil & Gas majors that have been in somber mood since beginning are restricting the markets to enter the green, as after deliberating gas pricing once again and taking into account government’s version, the Election Commission (EC) decided to defer a decision on the contentious issue as the matter was pending in the SC. In non sectoral gauge tyre stocks are on roll again on hopes of higher margins after rubber prices fell. On the other hand there is some weakness in the new banking licenses hopefuls as the EC may put its spanner in granting of banking licenses by the RBI till the election is over.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 22016.82, down by 38.66 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 22053.30 and 21916.87. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 declining ones on the index.

The broader indices were trading swiftly, outperforming the benchmarks; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.41%, while the Small cap index has gained 0.17%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on BSE were, Power up by 1.42%, Capital Goods up by 1.25%, Consumer Durables up by 0.89%, Metal up by 0.46% and Bankex was up by 0.20%. On the other hand Oil & Gas down by 1.88%, TECK down by 0.44%, IT down by 0.42%, and Auto down by 0.04% were the losers on the sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were BHEL up by 2.28%, Tata Steel up by 1.29%, NTPC up by 1.18%, HDFC up by 1.15% and L&T was up by 1.13%. On the flip side, RIL down by 2.93%, ONGC down by 2.44%, Wipro down by 1.63%, SSLT down by 0.87% and M&M down by 0.70%, were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) expressed confidence to acheive the revised tax target set in February. At the interim Budget during February this year, the direct tax collection target for 2013-14 was lowered by Rs 32,000 crore to Rs 6.32 lakh crore from 6.68 lakh crore set earlier. As on March 22, net direct collections stood at 5.82 lakh crore which was around Rs 50,000 crore lower from the revised target.

CBDT Chairman R K Tewari has said that tax department is taking more steps to garner Rs 50,000 crore of which some amount is to be received by way of advance tax, particularly from the corporates. He further added that the department has also launched a number of searches and survey operations across the country to clamp down on cases of tax evasion which has resulted in a number of entities declaring their hidden incomes and remitting the money in government treasury.

The overall advance tax collection as on March 22 increased by 8.7 percent to Rs 2,90,323 crore this financial year as against Rs 2,66,192 crore in year ago period. Corporate advance tax collection till March 22 grew by 10.8 percent to Rs 2,44,396 crore, while, personal advance tax grew by 11.2 per cent to Rs 45,927 crore. Furthermore, 2.56 crore online Income Tax returns were filed during the reported period, which is 40 per cent higher than same period in the last fiscal. The total refund payout by the department as on March 22 this fiscal stood at Rs 84,993 crore, a 5.3 per cent increase over Rs 80,729 crore paid last fiscal. Tax revenue collection is the main source of income for the government, which is struggling with the high fiscal deficit.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 6,576.60, down by 6.90 points or 0.10%, after trading in a range of 6,591.50 and 6,544.85. There were 27 stocks advancing against 22 declines, while one stock remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were BPCL up by 3.23%, BHEL up by 2.47%, Powergrid up by 1.55%, Coal India up by 1.32% and Tata Steel was up by 1.28%. On the flip side, Relaince Industries down by 3%, ONGC down by 2.44%, Wipro down by 1.62%, Ambuja Cements down by 1.56% and SSLT down by 1.18% were the top losers on the index.

Most of the Asian indices were trading in red; Hang Seng declined by 0.41%, Jakarta Composite was down by 0.14%, KLSE Composite lost 0.15%, Nikkei 225 was lower by 0.36%, Straits Times was declined by 0.26% and Seoul Composite was down by 0.22%

On the other hand Shanghai Composite was up by 0.05% and Taiwan Weighted gained 0.98%.