IGI Logo

Indian equity markets were trading in fine fettle in the noon session as FII’s stood as net buyers after a long time. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net buyers for the first time since May 30, buying shares worth Rs 1,295.84 crore on July 5, as per provisional data available on the NSE. Additional support came in as with Tarun Bajaj, Revenue Secretary, Ministry of Finance, stated that simplification of Goods and Services Tax (GST) law, rationalisation of rates, and removal of tax inversion are among the priority for the government of India. Buying in frontline stocks such as Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever and Kotak Mahindra Bank were aiding sentiment, while selling in NTPC, Power Grid and Reliance Industries kept the gains in the markets in check. On the global front, all Asian markets were trading lower as investors' fears deepened that the continent is leading the world into recession.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 53434.27, up by 299.92 points or 0.56% after trading in a range of 53143.28 and 53584.24. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.89%, while Small cap index was up by 0.33%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.91%, Consumer Discretionary up by 1.49%, FMCG up by 1.46%, Bankex up by 1.25% and Realty was up by 1.24%, while Metal down by 1.57%, Utilities down by 0.82%, Energy down by 0.68%, PSU down by 0.50% and Power was down by 0.42% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 3.57%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.98%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.53%, Asian Paints up by 2.51% and Maruti Suzuki was up by 2.06%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 3.02%, Power Grid down by 2.03%, Reliance Industries down by 1.60%, Tata Steel down by 1.44% and Larsen & Toubro was down by 0.34% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) has sought zero-rating GST on healthcare services to enable the service providers to claim input tax credit. It said enabling this would not only ensure that the input tax credit chain is intact but will also make compliances easier and ensure that the input taxes are not loaded into the cost of healthcare services.

Talking about the recommendations made in the recent GST Council meeting, the chamber said the incorporation of 5 per cent GST on room rent (exceeding Rs 5,000 per day) will go on to increase the cost of healthcare service to the patients. Further, it said the room rent is usually a part of the package rate for a treatment, and taxing only one component of the package will create confusion and will lead to deconstructing of the packages, which is against the current practice being encouraged by the government.

It further said under Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY scheme and other health insurance schemes, the government has been encouraging the private sector to keep the patients informed of the cost of entire treatment through package rates. Furthermore, these taxes are increasing the cost of compliance for the hospitals and making the entire compliance process more perplexing. This will defeat the government's intention of bringing about ease of doing business. It also highlighted that over the past couple of years, the net impact of revised tax rates on inputs (goods and services) consumed by hospitals has increased, including the taxes on some of the medical equipments.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15902.80, up by 91.95 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 15800.90 and 15927.15. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance up by 3.69%, Britannia Inds up by 3.20%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.98%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.77% and Eicher Motors was up by 2.76%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 4.95%, NTPC down by 3.09%, Hindalco down by 2.85%, Power Grid down by 2.05% and Reliance Industries was down by 1.65% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower; Hang Seng decreased 516.89 points or 2.37% to 21,336.18, KOSPI fell 49.77 points or 2.13% to 2,292.01, Jakarta Composite lost 73.43 points or 1.1% to 6,629.84, Taiwan Weighted dropped 363.69 points or 2.53% to 13,985.51, Nikkei 225 slipped 315.82 points or 1.2% to 26,107.65, Straits Times trembled 4.47 points or 0.14% to 3,099.64 and Shanghai Composite was down by 66.33 points or 1.95% to 3,337.70.

Above views are of the author and not of the website kindly read disclaimer