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Markets have shrugged the benefits from the GST Bill and turned choppy in late noon trades with financials leading the decline.
At 1:55pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 42 points at 27,656 and the Nifty50 dipped 20 points at 8,525.
Among financials, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, HDFC, SBI and Axis Bank were down 0.3%-1.6% each.
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(Updated at 1:05pm)
Markets have shrugged the benefits from the GST Bill even as auto shares emerged as the top gainers.
At 13:05 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 11 points at 27,709 and the Nifty50 dipped 15 points to trade 8,543.
"The passage of the Bill further enhances confidence in India's commitment to economic reforms. While implementation will take a few quarters, the writing is now on the wall - the organized sector will gain at the cost of the informal sector. In the short-term there may be some fiscal strain (depending on the rate finally implemented) but in the long-term, tax buoyancy will help in narrowing down the deficit. For the corporate sector and the economy, it will bring in efficiencies in logistics, distribution and eliminate much paperwork. This will improve margins and reduce capital locked in the supply- chain. It further simplifies the tax structure and reduces discretionary and ad-hocism in taxation policies. For the smaller sector in particular, it will be difficult to generate sales without paying tax. This may result in a spurt in declared turnover in the un-organised sector and small enterprises as undisclosed sales and income become visible. We are not looking to change our investment strategy much. We have exposure to logistics, cement, auto etc. companies which may benefit from implementation of the GST," says Mihir Vora, Director & Chief Investment Officer, Max Life Insurance
Shares of automobiles companies were trading higher by up to 4% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in an otherwise subdued market after the Rajya Sabha passed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Constitutional Amendment Bill.
Tata Motors (up 4% at Rs 496), Hero MotoCorp (2% at Rs 3,293), Bajaj Auto (2% at Rs 2,766), Ashok Leyland (1% at Rs 86.70), Maruti Suzuki India (1% at Rs 4,922) were up in the range of 1%-4% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
____________________(Updated at 10:25am)
Markets have shrugged off the clearance of GST in the upper house and are trading in a narrow range with Sensex and Nifty swinging between negative and positive zone.
By 10:25 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 48 points at 27,746 and the Nifty50 gained 14 points to trade 8,559. Broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up 0.5% each.
"Contrary to popular belief, the passage of the GST Constitutional Amendment marks only the beginning of a fairly tedious procedure that should ultimately result in the implementation of a unified GST in India at best by 2HFY18. Even as the adoption of a unified GST is one of the most remarkable tax reforms from a long-term perspective, in the short-term we highlight that this is likely to result in (1) a mild pick-up in inflation as hitherto untaxed goods and services are now brought under the tax net, (2) a meaningful loss of jobs in the informal sector as this sector will no longer be able to fly under the radar of the taxman and (3) consequently trigger pro-electorate measures in the form of higher revenue expenditure from FY18 onwards as the Modi-led BJP Government begins preparing for the 2019 General Elections," adds Ritika Mankar Mukherjee, Senior Economist, Ambit Capital.
Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto and Power Grid are the top Sensex gainers, all up between 1%-3.5%. However, Lupin, ICICI Bank, ITC, Infosys and HDFC are down 0.5%-1.5%.
Auto stocks are trading firm on hopes that the auto companies would benefit from the goods and services tax (GST) Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha yesterday.
Among other shares, Punj Lloyd has gained over 5% after the company said that its arm Pt Engineering sold its entire stake in UK-based Simon Carves Engineering to Engineers and Constructors International Inc for $2 million.
Shares of companies in the logistics sector were trading mixed after the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Constitutional Amendment Act.
Container Corporation, Snowman Logistics, GATI, Sical Logistics and Arshiya were trading lower by up to 3% after surging nearly 5% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in early morning trade.
However, Blue Dart Express, Allcargo Logistics, Gateway Distriparks and Transport Corporation of India were trading higher between 2%-3% on the BSE.
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Updated at 9:45 am
After making a higher opening, markets failed to sustain early gains weighed down by selling pressure in select index heavyweights.
The long-awaited GST Constitution Amendment Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha late Wednesday. The exact rate of the tax will only be decided in the weeks or months ahead.
At final count, all the 203 members present in the upper House voted in favour of the Bill. The AIADMK, with 13 members, had staged a walkout over disagreements.
ALSO READ: GST cleared: One nation, one tax gets going
By 9:45 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 22 points at 27,719 and the Nifty50 gained 5 points to 8,550. Broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up 0.5% each.
Motilal Oswal, CMD, Motilal Oswal Financial Services says," GST bill passed by upper house is a game changing, path breaking and the most important reform since independence. Look forward to an exciting time ahead. The country is on the way towards double digit growth. Very bullish on scrip called India. A historic, transformational and a game changing move. The whole world would like to participate in the Indian growth story. GST holds the potential to boost economic activity substantially, improve the government’s revenue, and help achieve better transmission of prices.”
He further adds, “It would enable more seamless and efficient crediting of taxes paid on capital goods, which would then become 12-14% cheaper, increasing demand for them, raising investment, and hence, economic growth. This would benefit sectors like FMCG (excluding Cigarettes and Jewelry), Autos, Cement, Light Electricals, Multiplexes, Retail and Logistics. However, Commercial Vehicles, Print Media, Cigarettes and Jewelry would be adversely impacted."
In the overseas markets, Asian shares firmed on Thursday after a rebound in oil prices from four-month lows helped to lift Wall Street shares. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3% in early trade, led by gains in resource shares, recouping some of its 1.5% losses on Wednesday.
Japan's Nikkei rose 0.6% from Wednesday's three-week lows. On Wall Street, a sharp rise in oil prices boosted energy shares, helping the S&P 500 index to post a modest gain of 0.3%.
Back home, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 578.17 crore yesterday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.
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Top gainers from the Sensex pack are Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, ONGC, Power Grid and Hero MotoCorp.
Tata Motors has gained by almost 3%. Tata Motors on Monday reported a 7.48% increase in total sales at 43,160 units in July.
On the losing side, Lupin, ICICI Bank, Cipla, Reliance Inds and Infosys are down 1%-2%.
Natco Pharma has rallied 7% to Rs 650 also its 52-week high on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in early morning trade, after the company announce that it has received final approval from the US drug regulator for generic versions of Tamiflu oral capsules.
ALSO READ: GST: What it means for your pocket
Bata India has fallen 5% after net profit fell 44.01% to Rs 50.49 crore on 1.01% decline in total income to Rs 685.69 crore in Q1 June 2016 over Q1 June 2015.
NBCC (India) has risen 2% after the company announced that it has secured a total business of about Rs 344.72 crore in the month of July 2016.
