Key benchmark indices were hovering at the lower end of the trading range in mid-morning trade. At 11:17 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 266.26 points or 0.83% at 31,808.52. The Nifty 50 index was down 62.55 points or 0.63% at 9,853.40. The Sensex was trading below the psychologically important 32,000 mark.
Heavy selling in index heavyweight ITC dragged the Sensex lower. Selling in index pivotal Reliance Industries (RIL) also put pressure on the Sensex. Gains in Infosys and HDFC supported the Sensex at lower levels.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.09%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.11%. The decline in both these indices was lower than the Sensex's decline in percentage terms.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1,298 shares fell and 990 shares rose. A total of 112 shares were unchanged.
Cigarette major ITC was down 11.94% at Rs 286.85 after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council yesterday, 17 July 2017, increased the compensation cess on cigarettes by 48.50 paise to 79.20 paise per stick with effect from 18 July 2017. The stock hit a high of Rs 293.20 and low of Rs 276.90 so far during the day.
While the peak Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate of 28% stays and so does 5% ad valorem cess on top of it on the cigarettes, the fixed cess has been hiked between Rs 485 and Rs 792 per thousand sticks. The increase in cess is expected to help the government raise around Rs 5000 crore of additional tax revenue, reports suggested.
Index pivotal Reliance Industries (RIL) was down 2.34% at Rs 1,515. The stock hit a high of Rs 1,551.50 and low of Rs 1,514.05 so far during the day.
IT shares rose. Hexaware Technologies (up 1.23%), Infosys (up 1.17%), HCL Technologies (up 1.14%), TCS (up 0.99%), Wipro (up 0.75%), Persistent Systems (up 0.45%), MphasiS (up 0.32%), Tech Mahindra (up 0.27%) and MindTree (up 0.11%), edged higher. Oracle Financial Services Software was down 0.13%.
Cement shares were in demand. Ambuja Cements was up 0.81%. Grasim Industries was up 0.12%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.
UltraTech Cement was up 1.74%. The company will announce April-June 2017 results today, 18 July 2017.
ACC was up 1.71% after consolidated net profit rose 32.6% to Rs 326 crore on 17.8% rise in sales turnover to Rs 3329 crore in Q2 June 2017 over Q2 June 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 17 July 2017.
ACC said that cement sales volume rose 10.1% to 6.74 million tonnes in Q2 June 2017 over Q2 June 2016. Operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 38% to Rs 637 crore in Q2 June 2017 over Q2 June 2016. Operating EBITDA margin improved to 19% in Q2 June 2017 from 16% in Q2 June 2016. ACC approved payment of an interim dividend of Rs 11 per share for the year ending 31 December 2017 (FY 2017).
In its outlook, company said that it expects upward trajectory in cement demand supported by the prospects of a normal monsoon. Growing momentum in the launching of smart cities and urban infrastructure development & housing projects, together with the implementation of GST will also bring growth opportunities for the sector.
Overseas, most Asian shares edged lower on growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will take a more cautious approach to raising interest rates.
US market ended little changed yesterday, 17 July 2017, as investors braced for a flood of second-quarter earnings reports later this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 8.02 points to close at 21,629.72. The S&P 500 declined 0.13 points to close at 2,459.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.97 points to close at 6,314.43.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
