Key benchmark indices dropped sharply in early trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was currently down 243.81 points or 0.89% at 27,263.49. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was weak. Most Asian stocks were trading mixed today, 12 May 2015 as insufficient progress on talks between debt-strapped Greece and its creditors kept investors on edge.
On the macro front, the government will today, 12 May 2015 unveil the inflation data based on the consumer price index (CPI) for April 2015 and Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data for March 2015.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 169.97 crore yesterday, 11 May 2015, as per provisional data as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 328.57 crore yesterday, 11 May 2015, as per provisional data.
At 9:30 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 243.81 points or 0.89% at 27,263.49. The index lost 282.15 points at the day's low of 27,225.15 in early trade. The index fell 4.39 points at the day's high of 27,502.91 in opening trade.
The CNX Nifty was down 87.40 points or 1.05% at 8,237.85. The index hit a high of 8,326.65 in intraday trade. The index hit a low of 8,231.70 in intraday trade.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was weak. On BSE, 873 shares declined and 365 shares rose. A total of 34 shares were unchanged.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 121.64 points or 1.16% at 10,332.32, underperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 116.47 points or 1.06% at 10,851.15, outperforming the Sensex.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 297 crore by 09:30 IST.
Vedanta (down 2.85%), Tata Motors (down 2.46%) and SBI (down 1.92%) edged lower from the Sensex pack.
Dr Reddy's Laboratories rose 0.85% ahead of its Q4 March 2015 earnings today, 12 May 2015.
NMDC slipped 0.42%. NMDC said after market hours yesterday, 11 May 2015, that it has signed three memorandum of understanding (MoUs) in the presence of Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi; Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Dr. Raman Singh; Minister of Steel & Mines Narendra Singh Tomar and other dignitaries at Dantewada, Chhattisgarh on 9 May 2015. Narendra Kothari, CMD has signed MoUs on behalf of NMDC. MOUs were for setting up Ultra Mega Steel Plant in Bastar Region (Ministry of steel, Government of Chhattisgarh, SAIL and NMDC): development of railway line from Jagdalpur to Rowghat (Government of Chhattisgarh, SAIL, NMDC and IRCON) and slurry Pipeline & Pellet Plant (Government of Chhattisgarh and NMDC).
Hindustan Zinc fell 1.59%. The stock turned ex-dividend today, 12 May 2015, for final dividend of Rs 2.50 per share for the year ended 31 March 2015 (FY 2015).
On the macro front, the government will today, 12 May 2015 unveil data on inflation based on the consumer price index (CPI) for April 2015. The all-India general CPI inflation slowed down to three months low of to 5.2% in March 2015 from 5.4% in February 2015. The government will also today, 12 May 2015 unveil the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data for March 2015. IIP increased 5% in February 2015 compared with the revised growth of 2.8% in January 2015.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, while responding to the discussions on the Finance Bill in Rajya Sabha on 7 May 2015, had announced the constitution of a Committee headed by Justice A.P. Shah to look into, inter alia, the issue of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) on FIIs.
In the light of the Finance Minister's announcement, officers dealing with International Taxes have been advised that no coercive action be taken for recovery of demand already raised by invoking provisions of MAT in the case of foreign companies particularly FIIs. Issue of fresh notices for reopening of cases as also completion of assessment should also be put on hold unless the case is getting barred by limitation, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday, 11 May 2015.
Meanwhile, proceedings in parliament are being keenly watched. The government yesterday, 11 May 2015 reportedly appeared to have blinked in its ongoing stand-off with the Congress in Parliament. Reports indicated that the government is likely to refer the Land Acquisition Bill, which was introduced in Lok Sabha yesterday, 11 May 2015 to a joint committee of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The GST Bill, passed by the Lok Sabha last week, will be reportedly sent to a select committee of the Rajya Sabha. The 30-member joint committee could have 19 members from the Lok Sabha and 11 from the Rajya Sabha. The Select Committee will only have members from the upper house. Both these panels are expected to submit their reports in the next session, reports indicated. Besides the Land Acquisition Bill and the GST Bill, a united Opposition had last week forced the government to refer another Bill related to regulating the real estate sector to a Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha. The only hope for the three Bills will now be in the monsoon session of Parliament in July 2015 as the budget session ends tomorrow, 13 May 2015.
The amended Land Acquisition Bill seeks to scrap the consent clause for acquiring land for five sectors industrial corridors, public private partnership projects, rural infrastructure, affordable housing and defence. The bill also exempts projects in these five areas from social impact assessments and allows the purchase of irrigated multi-cropped land and other types of agricultural land.
The Lok Sabha on 6 May 2015, passed the Constitution Amendment Bill in respect of goods and services tax (GST). A constitutional amendment bill needs to be approved by a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament and ratified by half the state legislative assemblies before coming into effect. While the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance found it easy to pass the GST bill in the Lok Sabha where it is in a majority, the real test will come in the Rajya Sabha where the ruling alliance is in a minority, with 62 members in a 245-member house.
GST, touted as the single biggest indirect taxation reforms since independence, will simplify and harmonise the indirect tax regime in the country. Central taxes like Central Excise Duty, Additional Excise Duties, Service Tax, Additional Customs Duty (CVD) and Special Additional Duty of Customs (SAD), etc. will be subsumed in GST. At the state level, taxes like VAT/Sales Tax, Central Sales Tax, Entertainment Tax, Octroi and Entry Tax, Purchase Tax and Luxury Tax, etc. would be subsumed in GST.
Most Asian stocks were trading mixed today, 12 May 2015 as insufficient progress on talks between debt-strapped Greece and its creditors kept investors on edge. Key benchmark indices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea fell by 0.03% to 0.51%. Key benchmark indices in China and Indonesia rose by 0.13% to 0.66%.
US stocks ended yesterday's thinly traded session slightly lower, giving back some of the gains from Friday's post-jobs rally.
In Europe, the Bank of England (BOE) yesterday, 11 May 2015 kept interest rates unchanged, after delaying the announcement from last Thursday's meeting because of the general election, in which the incumbent Conservative Party gained enough votes to take a majority in parliament. The BOE held its benchmark interest rate at a record low of 0.5%, where it has stayed since March 2009. It also kept the size of its bond purchases under the quantitative easing program at 375 billion pound ($578 billion).
Meanwhile, in a closely-watched Eurogroup meeting yesterday, 11 May 2015 euro zone finance ministers welcomed progress in negotiations between Greece and its creditors but said more work is needed for a cash-for-reform deal. Greece's finance minister reportedly said that his country's financial situation is "terribly urgent" and the crisis could come to a head in a couple of weeks. Yanis Varoufakis gave the warning after eurozone finance ministers met in Brussels to discuss the final euro 7.2 billion tranche of Greece's euro 240 billion EU/IMF bailout. Earlier, Greece began the transfer of euro 750 million in debt interest to the International Monetary Fund, a day ahead of a payment deadline.
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