By Rohit Vaid

Mumbai, Jun 18 (IANS): Further clarity on GST sub-rates and rules, along with developments regarding the monsoon's progress and global cues are expected to influence investors' sentiments in the equity segment during the week commencing June 19, market observers have opined.

According to analysts, the outcome of the GST Council's meet, slated to be held on June 18 in New Delhi, will set the trend for equity market movements during the upcoming week.

The council, chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, is scheduled to finalise the sub-rates on certain items, and approve rules relating to the e-way bill and anti-profiteering measures.

GST sub-rates on nearly most of the items have been placed in four brackets starting from five per cent to 28 per cent.

"With less than two weeks to go, the Centre and states are hoping to wrap up discussions on the GST this weekend," Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, told IANS.

"The GST Council will meet on June 18 to finalise the tax rate on lottery and will discuss the remaining draft rules. Markets are hoping for a smooth transition to GST."

The single tax regime on the supply of goods and services is proposed to be rolled out on July 1.

On Saturday, business chamber Assocham asked the central government to defer the implementation of the new GST regime until its IT network is fully prepared and tested.

"The focus of domestic market players will be on development of GST implementation which may lead to sector-specific ups and downs," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, told IANS.

Apart from the outcome of the GST Council's meet, investors will also be looking out for developments on the progress of monsoon rains.

On the offers front, Vijay Singhania, Founder-Director, Trade Smart Online, pointed out that the key indices will witness the launch of several initial public offerings (IPOs) next week.

"We expect that this on-going fund-raising through primary and secondary markets to gain momentum and is unlikely to affect the overall market liquidity and valuations," Singhania said.

In the coming week, Central Depository Services (India) (CDSL), Eris Lifesciences and GTPL Hathway will come out with their IPOs.

On technical-levels, the NSE Nifty is expected to remain in an intermediate uptrend after crossing the immediate resistance level of 9,654 points.

"Technically, while the markets have corrected this week, the Nifty remains in an intermediate uptrend," Deepak Jasani, Head - Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.

"The uptrend could resume once again if the immediate resistances of 9,654 points are taken out. Crucial supports to watch out for some weakness are at 9,560 points."

Last week, key equity indices slipped into negative territory on the back of global cues such as the US Federal Reserve's decision to hike interest rates.

Besides global cues, prolonged outflow of foreign funds and profit-bookings dented the overall investment sentiment.

Consequently, the 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE closed last week's trade at 31,056.40 points -- down 205.66 points or 0.66 per cent from its previous week's close.

The NSE Nifty fell by 80.2 points or 0.83 per cent to close the week's trade at 9,588.05 points.