Markets close with minor losses; Sensex drops 67 points & Nifty settles above 15,700 mark

Domestic equity benchmarks ended with minor losses on Wednesday, June 30, 2021. The S&P BSE Sensex shed 66.95 points or 0.13 per cent to close at 52,482.71. The Nifty 50 index lost 26.95 points or 0.17 per cent to settle at 15,721.50. The Nifty Bank index closed 238.10 points or 0.68 per cent lower at 34,772.20.

In the broader markets, the trend was mixed. S&P BSE MidCap closed 0.03 per cent lower while S&P BSE SmallCap settled 0.56 per cent higher.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1716 shares rose and 1515 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index on NSE, 17 stocks advanced and 33 stocks declined. The top five gainers on Nifty 50 were Coal India (up 1.28 per cent), Reliance (up 1.16 per cent), Divi's Laboratories (up 1.11 per cent), Infosys (1.08 per cent) and Tech Mahindra (up 0.79 per cent). The top five losers were Shree Cement (down 1.90 per cent), Bajaj Finserv (down 1.82 per cent), Power Grid (down 1.50 per cent), UPL (down 1.42 per cent) and ICICI Bank (down 1.35 per cent).

COVID-19 update

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 18,18,17,890 with 39,37,978 deaths. India reported 5,37,064 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 3,98,454 deaths while 2,94,27,330 patients have been discharged, data showed.

GST System

The Goods and Service Tax system is going to complete four years tomorrow. During the four years, several key policy initiatives have been taken by the government to make the GST system and compliance mechanism simple, transparent and technology-driven.

The introduction of the Goods and Services Tax is a very significant step in indirect tax reforms. It came into effect on July 1, 2017. It promotes the idea of 'ONE NATION, ONE TAX, ONE MARKET.' With the introduction of GST, the Ease of Doing Business has significantly improved in the country.

Framework for 'Accredited Investors'

Securities and exchange board of India (SEBI) has approved a proposal to introduce a framework for 'Accredited Investors' in the Indian securities market. It will be a class of investors who may be considered to be well informed or well advised about investment products.

Economy

China's official manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) grew at a slower clip in June. The reading eased to 50.9 in June from 51 in May. Japan's industrial output posted the biggest monthly drop in a year in May. Factory output slumped 5.9 per cent in May from the previous month, official data showed on Wednesday.

A report released Tuesday morning showed a measure of confidence among US consumers jumped to its highest level in nearly 1-1/2 years in June. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index raced to a reading of 127.3 this month, the highest level since February 2020, from 120.0 in May. The S&P Case-Shiller national home price index, which covers all nine US census divisions, rose 14.6 per cent year on year in April, data on Tuesday showed. That followed a 13.3% annual jump in March.