GST fails to bring cheer to the market

Major indices failed to capitalise on Thursday's strong start, post the passage of the GST Bill in the Rajya Sabha, as traders pressed sales on front line shares and investors refused to park fresh funds into equities trading near 16-month highs.

Sentiment was supposed to take a major fillip after last night's overwhelming clearance of the amendment allowing the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax in India's business lexicon. The bitterly debated legislation, in works for over a decade, will result in a unified market across the country. However, the market remained as a sell on rallies.

The Nifty rose 3 points at 8,547 in the first half hour of trade, retreating from an opening high of 8,600. Bharti Infratel, Lupin, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank and ICICI Bank dropped between 1-1.8 percent. They were among 24 shares that dipped on the Nifty. Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, ONGC and Power Grid rose 1.1-2.8 percent and were among 27 stocks that gained ground on the index.

Maruti, Tata Motors, and Bajaj Finance were the top three traded stocks by value. ICICI Bank, Jindal Steel & Power, Ashok Leyland and GATI figured on the list of most active securities on the NSE.

The Nifty 100, 200 and 500 indices slipped marginally in trade, down 0.1 percent each. The mood was mostly weak in the sectoral segment will all four banking benchmarks trading in the red. Mild profit booking continued in the FMCG, Realty and the Media sectors as well while modest upticks were seen on pharma stocks, metal shares and auto companies.

The Sensex fell 39 points to 27,658 points on the Bombay Stock Exchange with Maruti, Tata Motors and ICICI Bank being the top traded shares on the index. Sun Pharma, ONGC and NTPC were the top gainers along with Bajaj Auto and Maruti. Stocks that slipped in trade were Cipla, HDFC, Asian Paints and State Bank.

The trend was mostly positive in the wider market with 812 shares rising compared with 588 stocks that fell. The mood was bullish in the derivatives market where 110 futures gained ground versus 61 that dropped lower.

Pricol, Bata India, Kewal Kiran clothing and Welspun India were present on the list of volume buzzers.

Blue Star, Asian Paints, Yes Bank and Dhampur Sugar Mills hit fresh highs in the first half hour of trade on the National Stock Exchange.