Markets facing volatility during late morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks were facing volatility during late morning deals, as indices continued to altered between green and red terrain. Negative cues from other Asian markets were impacting trade over the Dalal Street in late morning session. Traders got worried, after the government capped export incentives under the scheme, MEIS, at Rs 2 crore per exporter on outbound shipments made during the period from September 1 to December 31, 2020. The move comes after the Department of Revenue asked the commerce ministry to review the coverage of Merchant Export from India Scheme (MEIS) so that the fiscal benefits under the programme can be brought down to Rs 9,000 crore in the current financial year.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, as consumer prices in South Korea were up 0.6 percent on month in August. The Statistics Korea said that exceeded expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent following the flat reading in July. On a yearly basis, consumer prices climbed 0.7 percent - again beating forecasts for 0.4 percent and up from 0.3 percent in the previous month.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 38943.48, up by 42.68 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 38736.22 and 39036.76. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.28%, while Small cap index was up by 1.17%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.89%, Energy up by 1.87%, Oil & Gas up by 0.97%, Industrials up by 0.80% and Capital Goods up by 0.68%, while Auto down by 0.54%, Utilities down by 0.49%, Bankex down by 0.49%, Consumer Durables down by 0.46% and PSU down by 0.35% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 2.04%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.65%, ONGC up by 1.26%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.84% and Ultratech Cement up by 0.68%. On the flip side, Bajaj Auto down by 3.11%, SBI down by 1.65%, Power Grid down by 1.58%, HDFC down by 1.54% and Axis Bank down by 1.52% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, declining for the second consecutive month, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection slipped by around 12% to Rs 86,449 crore in August as compared to Rs 98,202 crore in the same month last year. Of the gross collection, Central GST (CGST) stood at Rs 15,906 crore, State GST (SGST) Rs 21,064 crore, Integrated GST (IGST) Rs 42,264 crore (including Rs 19,179 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess Rs 7,215 crore (including Rs 673 crore collected on import of goods).

The Finance Ministry said the government has settled Rs 18,216 crore to Central GST and Rs 14,650 crore to State GST from Integrated GST as regular settlement. The total revenue earned by Central Government and the State Governments after regular settlement in the month of August, 2020 is Rs 34,122 crore for CGST and Rs 35,714 crore for the SGST.

The ministry said the revenues for August are 88% of the GST collected in the same month last year. During the month, the revenues from import of goods were 77% and the revenues from domestic transaction (including import of services) were 92% of the revenues from these sources during the same month last year. It further said that taxpayers with turnover less than Rs 5 crore have been permitted to file GST returns till September.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11486.60, up by 16.35 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 11430.40 and 11520.45. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Zee Entertainment up by 4.56%, Bharti Infratel up by 3.15%, Coal India up by 2.70%, Reliance Industries up by 2.19% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.72%. On the flip side, Bajaj Auto down by 3.13%, Hero MotoCorp down by 2.96%, Grasim Industries down by 2.31%, Power Grid down by 1.86% and SBI down by 1.79% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; KOSPI fell 2.96 points or 0.13% to 2,346.59, Straits Times trembled 9.69 points or 0.38% to 2,528.86, Shanghai Composite declined 13.23 points or 0.39% to 3,397.38, Taiwan Weighted dropped 18.08 points or 0.14% to 12,685.20 and Hang Seng decreased 139.32 points or 0.55% to 25,045.53. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 73.24 points or 0.32% to 23,211.31 and Jakarta Composite soared 0.72 points or 0.01% to 5,311.40.