Bourses trim gains in late afternoon session

Indian equity markets trimmed some of their gains but continued to trade in green in late afternoon session. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index traded in green. Investors continued to monitor Q4FY24 earnings. Traders continued to take support as output of eight core industries posted a growth of 5.2 percent in March 2024 as the production of cement, coal, electricity, natural gas, steel and crude oil recorded positive growth in the same month. Besides, finance ministry in its latest data report has showed that India’s gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections hit a record high in April 2024 at Rs 2.10 lakh crore. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red after mixed signals from Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell on the outlook for inflation and interest rates. European markets were trading mostly in red after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it doesn't plan to cut interest rates until it has 'greater confidence' that price increases are slowing. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 74595.14, up by 112.36 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 74360.69 and 74812.43. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.93%, while Small cap index was up by 0.35%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.85%, Power up by 1.81%, PSU up by 1.58%, Metal up by 1.33% and Auto was up by 1.16%, while Bankex down by 0.50%, Telecom down by 0.49%, TECK down by 0.30% and Realty was down by 0.17% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 4.28%, Asian Paints up by 3.12%, NTPC up by 2.12%, Tata Steel up by 1.79% and Tata Motors up by 1.66%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.91%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.01%, Axis Bank down by 1.40%, Wipro down by 1.17% and ICICI Bank down by 1.05% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, breaching a landmark milestone, the finance ministry in its latest data report has showed that India’s gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections hit a record high in April 2024 at Rs 2.10 lakh crore. This represents a significant 12.4% year-on-year growth, driven by a strong increase in domestic transactions (up 13.4%) and imports (up 8.3%). 

The collection was over Rs 1.78 lakh crore last month (March 2024), while it was Rs 1.87 lakh crore in April, 2023. After accounting for refunds, the net GST revenue for April 2024 stood at Rs 1.92 lakh crore, reflecting an impressive 15.5 per cent growth compared to the same period last year.

Of the total GST collection, Central GST (CGST) was Rs 43,846 crore; State GST (SGST) stood at Rs 53,538 crore; Integrated GST (IGST) was Rs 99,623 crore, including Rs 37,826 crore collected on imported goods; Cess stood at Rs 13,260 crore, including Rs 1,008 crore collected on imported goods.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22646.90, up by 42.05 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 22567.85 and 22710.50. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid up by 4.22%, BPCL up by 3.94%, Asian Paints up by 3.26%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.35% and NTPC up by 2.00%. On the flip side, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 2.95%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.02%, Axis Bank down by 1.42%, Tata Consumer down by 1.27% and Wipro down by 1.27% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted lost 174.16 points or 0.86% to 20,222.44, Jakarta Composite plunged 127.46 points or 1.79% to 7,106.74, Nikkei 225 slipped 37.98 points or 0.1% to 38,236.07 and KOSPI dropped 8.41 points or 0.31% to 2,683.65. On the flip side, Straits Times rose 2.82 points or 0.09% to 3,295.51 and Hang Seng was up by 444.1 points or 2.44% to 18,207.13.

European markets were trading mostly in red; France’s CAC fell 63.93 points or 0.81% to 7,921.00 and Germany’s DAX was down by 5.3 points or 0.03% to 17,926.87. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was up by 31.88 points or 0.39% to 8,153.12.