Gift Nifty will provide Indian investors cues on how domestic markets could react to global events.
The Supreme Court's verdict directing Tiger Global to pay capital gains tax on its 2018 sale of Flipkart shares is unlikely to accelerate the selloff by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). However, legal and tax experts say the ruling sharpens scrutiny around treaty benefits and could influence how offshore investors structure future India bets.
Close on heels of the launch of Gift Nifty (earlier SGX Nifty), domestic exchanges are pushing for extension of trading hours for the onshore derivatives market, said sources. Bourses are waiting for a final approval from market regulator Sebi on the proposal to keep the derivatives market open for longer hours, they said. The move is aimed at attracting more trading members for onshore futures and options (F&O) contracts amid risk that global investors could prefer trading at Gift City given the tax benefits.
The Nifty Options would add to SGX's suite of Asian equity derivatives, which include SGX S&P CNX Nifty futures, the dominant Indian product for international participants.
Tasting success with the relaunch of Sensex derivatives in the onshore market, BSE is preparing for the 'offshore' debut of its 30-share index, which has become synonymous with the domestic markets. Sources in the know said that the India International Exchange (India INX), a subsidiary of BSE, received approval in July from the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) to launch Sensex 30 derivatives contracts.
Singapore Exchange plans to launch more India-based products to provide opportunities for global investors interested in tapping the Indian market.
The General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) may have been deferred for a year but many foreign institutional investors (FIIs) do not want to take chances. They are shifting their trading positions to Singapore, where derivatives of India's key equity index, the Nifty, are listed.
The proposal to merge the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) units of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and BSE has reached an advanced stage, and both bourses could file an application before the National Company Law Tribunal as early as this month, according to a top regulatory official. Sources indicate that the merger proposal has received approval from their respective boards. Both the NSE and BSE are arch rivals when it comes to onshore trading.
India's premium benchmark equity index, the S&P CNX Nifty, also the fastest growing index on SGX, will be traded for 16 hours on that exchange, compared to the six-and-a-half hours that it traded on the National Stock Exchange in India. The SGX will be traded from 6.30 am to 10.30 pm IST.
The government on Friday proposed hiking the securities transaction tax on Futures & Options (F&O) contracts, a move that will increase the trading costs in the derivatives segment as well as help in curbing excessive trades. In the Finance Bill 2023, passed by the Lok Sabha on Friday, the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on options is proposed to be increased to 0.0625 per cent from 0.05 per cent and on futures contracts to 0.0125 from 0.01 per cent. Analysts opined that higher STT will shore up the government's revenues to some extent and also discourage excessive trading since a large number of retail traders are losing money in the segment.
The move is meant to curb or reverse the export of India's financial markets to overseas trading platforms.
Sensex gains 2.4%, Nifty crosses 7,000; investors feel exit polls have vindicated their stand
The S&P BSE Sensex ended the session at 25,342, up 3 points while the Nifty50 closed at 7,738 points.
Derivatives exchange DGCX started trading futures for the S&P BSE Sensex
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