A look at the headlines in the sector right now:

  1. GST rollout pushed to July 1, a ‘more realistic’ deadline than April 1: All ministers besides the West Bengal representative agreed that states will assess 90% of all turnovers of Rs 1.5 crore or less, Arun Jaitley said.
  2. IMF lowers India’s growth forecast for 2016-’17 to 6.6% from 7.6%: The estimate for 2017-’18 was also reduced to 7.2% owing to the ‘temporary negative consumption shock’ caused by the note ban, its latest report said.
  3. India is sixth most promising market in the world, down by one position, says PwC survey: But the country still stands out for its robust growth and fiscal reforms, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
  4. Sensex, Nifty end marginally lower, Reliance Industries shares drop 3.37%: Global markets were affected by anticipation over British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit speech scheduled for later in the day.
  5. Flipkart invests Rs 13.6 crore in parenting social networking platform Tinystep: The Bengaluru-based startup will utilise the money to increase its product range and improve services to provide customers with a better experience.
  6. Microsoft patent reveals foldable phone that turns into a tablet: There have been rumors that the tech major is looking to bring a Surface Phone to the market this year.
  7. Alibaba launches ­’anti-counterfeiting alliance’ with Louis Vuitton, Samsung and others: The companies aim to share data on fake goods with its most high-profile brands, which will help the Chinese e-commerce website determine fraudulent listings on its marketplace Taobao.