Stocks regained strength in mid-morning trade. At 11:16 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 101.26 points or 0.28% at 35,972.74. The Nifty 50 index was up 18.30 points or 0.17% at 10,809.95. Positive Asian stocks boosted sentiment.
The Sensex was currently trading below the psychological 36,000 mark after hitting an intraday high above that level in early trade. Trading for the day began on a positive note as the key benchmark indices drifted higher in early trade on positive Asian stocks. Stocks trimmed gains in morning trade after an initial upmove.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.33%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.66%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1227 shares rose and 840 shares fell. A total of 125 shares were unchanged.
Maruti Suzuki India rose 0.41%. Designed to make pre-owned car buying experience more attractive Maruti Suzuki India re-launched True Value with a new brand and retail identity. The new True Value brings enhanced customer experience through transparency in selling and buying of pre-owned cars. Since relaunch, the new True Value network has expanded to 200 outlets in 132 cities across the country. The new True Value network, with large display area, has seen this rapid expansion in less than 19 months of its launch. The announcement was made during market hours today, 25 February 2019.
Realty stocks rose after the GST Council slashed tax rates for houses in both affordable and non-affordable segments. Parsvnath Developers (up 11.7%), Unitech (up 4.44%), Sunteck Realty (up 2.56%), Peninsula Land (up 1.43%), D B Realty (up 1.78%), Sobha (up 0.7%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL) (up 0.84%), Godrej Properties (up 1.01%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 1%), Oberoi Realty (up 1.17%), Prestige Estates Projects (up 0.02%), Phoenix Mills (up 1.91%), and Omaxe (up 0.27%) edged higher. DLF (down 0.5%) declined.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council in its 33rd meeting held on 24 February 2019, recommended that GST shall be levied at effective GST rate of 5%, without input tax credit (ITC), on residential properties outside affordable segment. GST shall be levied at effective GST of 1%, without ITC, on affordable housing properties. The new rate shall become applicable from 1 April 2019, Ministry of Finance said in a statement.
The definition of affordable housing was also redefined by linking to cost as well as carpet area. Flats costing up to Rs 45 lakh and with carpet area of 60 square metres in metros (Delhi-NCR, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai-MMR and Kolkata) or 90 square metres in non-metro areas.
Prior to this, under-construction residential properties attracted effective GST rate of 12% after factoring one-third abatement for the value of land. The effective GST rate for affordable housing was 8%. Ready properties that have received occupancy certificate (OC) do not attract GST.
Overseas, stocks in Asia traded higher on Monday amid trade optimism after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a postponement of a closely-watched deadline on March 1. US stocks closed higher Friday, thanks to optimism over U.S.-China trade talks.
U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly announced Sunday evening that America is planning to delay a set of additional tariffs on Chinese goods that were due to kick in on March 1. Trump cited substantial progress in bilateral talks between the world's two largest economies, including intellectual property protection and technology transfer issues. As a result, the president said he would suspend the new levies, however he did not state a new deadline.
In Europe, British Prime Minister Theresa May reportedly announced Sunday that she is delaying a vote on her Brexit deal in Parliament, saying it should now take place by March 12, a little more than two weeks before the U.K. is due to leave the European Union. British lawmakers will consider various Brexit options this week as May continues to seek concessions from her EU counterparts. Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29.
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