Indian share markets continued to trade well above the dotted line amid encouraging quarterly earnings. Gains were largely seen in consumer durables stocks, energy stocks and realty stocks.

The BSE Sensex is trading higher by 113 points and the NSE Nifty is trading higher by 45 points. Meanwhile, the BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 1.2% & the BSE Small Cap index is up by 1.3%. The rupee is trading at 65.10 to the US$.

In news from the economy, as per an article in The Livemint, a ministerial panel has recommended lowering the goods and services tax (GST) rates for small businesses and extending the benefit to more such units to reduce their tax burden and improve compliance.

The changes in the so-called composition scheme could benefit millions of small enterprises, eateries and traders. As per the reports, the ministerial panel recommended a new tax rate under the composition scheme would be 1% for traders, manufacturers and restaurants from 1%, 2% and 5%, respectively earlier.

The panel also recommended increasing the ceiling for eligibility to enterprises with annual revenue of less than Rs 1.5 crore from Rs 1 crore currently.

Pharma stocks are trading on an optimistic note with Ajanta Pharma share price and Dr. Reddy’s lab share price leading the gains.

Cadila Healthcare share price is trading on an encouraging note (up 0.6%) after it received final approval from the US drug regulator to market Clobetasol Propionate Ointment. The drug is used to treat a variety of skin conditions like eczema, dermatitis and allergies etc. and it will be manufactured at its Ahmedabad facility.

Cadila Healthcare’s formulations business spans India, US, Europe and emerging markets (mainly Brazil and South Africa). The company derived 34% and 41% revenues from India and the US, respectively, in FY17.

Indian pharma companies catering to the US markets are breathing a sigh of relief. After being adversely affected by import bans and the suspension of new drug approvals from manufacturing facilities in the past three years, there has been a sharp pick-up in new drug approvals in FY17.