Sensex, Nifty remain in green during early noon deals

Indian equity benchmarks remained in green during early afternoon session, on the back of buying in TECK and Telecom stocks. Sentiments were positive, as inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) in India slowed down in the month of August 2024 to 1.31% from 2.04% in July, amid easing prices of crude petroleum, natural gas and food articles. Some relief came as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Union Government has kept the interests of the middle class in mind while formulating tax rates, and is constantly trying to keep it simpler while giving more options to them via the new tax regime.

On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green, after Japan's tertiary activity index increased more-than-expected in July after falling in the previous month. According to data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, the seasonally adjusted tertiary activity index climbed 1.4 percent month-on-month in July, reversing a 1.2 percent fall in June. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 83072.92, up by 84.14 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 82866.68 and 83128.78. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell by 0.11%, while Small cap index was down by 0.44%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were TECK up by 0.45%, Telecom up by 0.36%, IT up by 0.29%, Bankex up by 0.23% and Utilities up by 0.22%, while PSU down by 0.76%, Industrials down by 0.62%, Capital Goods down by 0.48%, Metal down by 0.47% and Realty down by 0.29% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 1.29%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.09%, NTPC up by 1.08%, Nestle up by 1.06% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.96%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.29%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.05%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.02%, Tata Steel down by 1.01% and Power Grid down by 0.99% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, GST investigation arm the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has suggested reciprocal arrangements with foreign governments for information sharing and enforcement measures as well as blocking of websites to prevent tax evasion in Online Information and Database Access or Retrieval (OIDAR) services like e-gaming, online education and advertisement. 

The move has been necessitated as it has come to DGGI's notice that there are entities, including online casinos that are based out of tax havens and also those which operate through offshore VPNs and cloud-based platforms. These entities are non-cooperative and appear to intentionally avoid tax compliance, and hence an information exchange with global law enforcement agencies would help crack down on any evasion.

OIDAR services are those which are delivered over the internet or electronic network and whose supply is essentially impossible without Information Technology. It includes a wide array of services viz cloud services, digital content, online gaming, online advertising etc. When such services are provided by an offshore entity to a non-taxable recipient, the supplier becomes liable for obtaining registration and discharging GST on the same. Currently, as many as 574 offshore entities providing OIDAR Services have registered themselves with the GST department, and annual revenue from this sector has increased from Rs 80 crore for the FY 2017-18 to Rs 2,675 crore for 2023-24 fiscal.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25428.80, up by 45.05 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 25352.25 and 25432.70. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 3.12%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.79%, Britannia up by 1.72%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.29% and NTPC up by 1.12%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.63%, BPCL down by 1.53%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.05%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 1.03% and Tata Steel down by 1.01% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 229.19 points or 1.32% to 17,651.31, Jakarta Composite gained 10.9 points or 0.14% to 7,823.03 and Straits Times rose 23.98 points or 0.67% to 3,594.41, while Nikkei 225 slipped 378.54 points or 1.05% to 36,203.22.