 "Markets trading flat; ITC up 5%")
Benchmark share indices slipped after the first hour of trade weighed down by selling pressure in pharma majors while FMCG shares trimmed early gains.
At 10:40am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 47 points at 27,383 and the Nifty50 was down 21 points at 8,464. In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were down over 1.3% each. Market breadth was weak with 1765 losers and 565 gainers on the BSE.
Pharma majors were among the top losers amid media report that US prosecutors are conducting an investigation into suspected price collusion. Sun Pharma down nearly 5% followed by Dr Reddy's Labs and Lupin which eased 4% each.
Among others, Glenmark Pharma was down 5% while Aurobindo Pharma eased 2%.
ITC was the top Sensex gainer up 4% while its peer Hindustan Unilever was up 1.9%.
Infosys recovered from its 52-week low on renewed buying interest and was up 0.8%.
Shares of cigarette makers such as ITC, Godfrey Phillips India and VST Industries rallied by up to 5% on BSE after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council's propose to place tobacco products in the 26% tax slab and an additional cess. The current rate of taxation on cigarettes is around 64% and 81% on chewing tobacco.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) was trading lower by 2% at Rs 1,419 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) after a huge block deals executed in the counter.__________________________
(Updated at 9:25am)
Markets were trading flat in early trades as gains in FMCG stocks helped offset most of the losses in pharma majors. Further, persistent selling by foreign funds in the past few trading session continues to weigh on market sentiment.
At 9:25am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 29 points at 27,401 and the Nifty50 was down 11 points at 8,474.
"Nifty has been moving in a falling channel from last nine weeks and resistances are shifting lower which is giving an upper hand to bears to be with sell on bounce back strategy. Now if it sustains below 8500
zones then selling pressure may continue towards 8400-8350 zones while on the upside it has hurdle near to 8550 then 8620 zones. Now till it doesn’t get stability above 8620 trend may remain under pressure with liquidation in many front line stocks," Anand Rathi said in a technical note.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in equities worth Rs 707 crore on Thursday, as per provisional stock exchange data.
Economy
The GST Council on Thursday decided to have four slabs under the GST regime with some changes from what union finance ministry proposed and a cess over the peak rate of 28% on luxury and sin goods for five years to compensate states for any revenue loss. A four-tier GST rate structure would be 5%, 12%, 18%, 28%, finance minister Arun Jaitley told reporters after the meeting. The finance ministry had earlier proposed to have 6%, 12%,18% and 26%.
Stocks
FMCG stocks were among the top gainers post the finalistion of rates by the GST Council. ITC was the top gainer up over 3% as the company is likely to be a major beneficiary on the back of lower tax impact on cigarettes post the new GST regime. Hindustan Unilever was up 1%. Colgate was up over 2%. Among other cigarette makers Godfrey Philips gained 5%, VST Industries was up 7%.
In the pharma pack, Dr Reddy's Labs, Sun Pharma and Lupin were down 4%-6% each.
Global Markets
Most Asian markets were trading lower amid rising uncertainty over the US Presidential elections after recent opinion polls indicated that Donald Trump has been closing the gap over his rival Hillary Clinton. Shares in Japan were the top losers with the Nikkei down 1.5% and Straits Times eased 0.4%. Hang Seng was trading with marginal losses while Shanghai Composite was trading flat with positive bias.
US stocks ended lower on Thursday with technology shares leading the decline while the uncertainty over the outcome of the US Presidential elections next week. The broader S&P 500 ended lower for the eight straight session, the longest since the financial crisis of 2008. The index ended down 0.4% at 2,089, the Nasdaq lost 0.9% to close at 5,058 and the Dow Jones industrial average settled 0.2% lower at 17,931.
