Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks traded on a firm note throughout the day and ended in green. Benchmark indices closed at record high with Nifty and Sensex closing above 11,100 and 36,200 marks, respectively. The market breadth was in favour of decline with one stock advancing against every two declining ones. The equity benchmarks made a gap-up opening and traded jubilantly in early deals as sentiments were upbeat as Goods and Services Tax (GST) receipts rose in December 2017, reversing the decline seen in the previous two months. The government expects collections to improve in the coming months as measures to raise compliance have begun to show results. The total collections for December rose to Rs 86,703 crore, as on January 24. GST receipts had slipped to Rs 80,808 crore in November from more than Rs 83,000 crore in October and over Rs 92,000 crore in September. Some support also came after the Economic Survey highlighted FY19 growth to be 7-7.5 percent versus 6.75 percent for FY18. The Economic Survey has predicted gross value added for FY18 at 6.1 percent as against 6.6 percent for the previous financial year. According to the Economic Survey, agriculture, education, and employment will be areas of focus in the medium term. However, the Economic Survey has called the prevailing high oil prices are a matter of concern.

Investors also took some encouragement from a report that the share of Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPI) in domestic capital markets through participatory notes (P-notes) has jumped to a six-month high of over Rs 1.5 lakh crore at the end of December after declining in the month of November, despite stringent norms put in place by markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to check their misuse. This is the highest level since June when the cumulative value of such investments stood at Rs 1.65 lakh crore. Investors took note that ahead of the Budget, the government has increased the incentive on more than a hundred products including traditional exports like leather, marine, yarn and wool. The benefit in form of higher duty drawback on 102 items is expected to boost exports and also ease the liquidity crunch faced by exporters after the rollout of the GST. Additionally, a private report enlightened that the government is expected to continue its fiscal consolidation at a slower pace in the ensuing budget with a fiscal deficit target of 3.2% of GDP for 2018-19. The street shrugged off the private report that India’s factory output growth in December 2017 is projected to come down to 5.5-6%, from a 17-month high of 8.4% in November last year.

On the global front, Asian markets closed mostly in green, amid upbeat corporate earnings and strong global economic growth. China’s senior official at the country’s top economic planner said that the economic growth will likely slow to 6.5-6.8 percent this year, while warning about the risks of Black Swan and Gray Rhino events. The European markets were trading mostly in red. A business survey showed that uncertainty over Britain’s future trading relations with the European Union after Brexit is the most serious threat to London as the world’s top financial center.

Back home, telecom stocks Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications closed in red after Reliance Jio announced the lowest rental plan of Rs 49 in which it will offer unlimited voice and data for 28 days for JioPhone subscribers, effective January 26.

The BSE Sensex ended at 36286.65, up by 236.21 points or 0.66% after trading in a range of 36093.36 and 36443.98. There were 16 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.82%, while Small cap index was down by 1.15%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.56%, IT up by 1.09%, TECK up by 0.81%, Consumer Durables up by 0.71% and Consumer Disc up by 0.55%, while Telecom down by 1.52%, PSU down by 1.22%, Utilities down by 0.98%, Healthcare down by 0.91% and Power down by 0.82% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 3.53%, HDFC up by 3.07%, TCS up by 2.57%, Bajaj Auto up by 2.17% and Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.16%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 5.71%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.78%, ITC down by 2.03%, Yes Bank down by 1.65% and ONGC down by 1.56% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, reversing downtrend of preceding two months, the government’s revenue collection under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) surged in the month of December. According to the latest data released by the government, December GST revenue collection increased by 7.30% to Rs 86,703 crore as on January 24, 2018, as against Rs 80,808 crore in November month, despite the cut in tax rates on 178 goods from 28% to 18% in November.

Till January 24, one crore taxpayers have been registered under GST. Out of the total number of taxpayers, 17.11 lakh are Composition Dealers which are required to file returns every quarter. Besides, 56.30 lakh GSTR 3B Returns have been filed for the month of December, 2017 till January 24, 2018.

As per data, for the Composition Dealers, for quarter July-September 2017, the Last Date of Filing GSTR 4 Return was December 24, 2017 and a total of 8.10 lakh returns were filed by the Composition Dealers paying a total of Rs.335.86 crore as GST, while for the October-December quarter, the last Date for filing GSTR 4 return was January 18, 2018 and a total of 9.25 lakh returns were filed by the Composition Dealers for this quarter paying a sum of Rs 421.35 crore as GST.

The CNX Nifty ended at 11124.70, up by 55.05 points or 0.50% after trading in a range of 11075.95 and 11171.55. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 3.89%, Maruti Suzuki up by 3.60%, HDFC up by 3.31%, UPL up by 2.61% and Bharti Infratel up by 2.61%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 6.01%, Lupin down by 4.21%, GAIL India down by 3.31%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.67% and HPCL down by 2.37% were the top losers. (Provisional)

The European markets were trading mostly in red; Germany’s DAX decreased 42.89 points or 0.32% to 13,297.28, France’s CAC decreased 5.43 points or 0.1% to 5,523.72 and UK’s FTSE 100 increased 6.61 points or 0.09% to 7,672.15.

Asian equity markets ended mostly in green on Monday as oil resumed its ascent, Intel reported record quarterly revenue and the US dollar steadied after recent weakness on concerns about trade spurred by President Trump's administration officials. Japanese shares ended almost flat in choppy trade, with gains in cyclicals such as memory chip makers offset by weakness in shares sensitive to domestic demand, notably railroad and construction companies. Meanwhile, Chinese stocks tumbled, with the blue-chip index posting its worst day in more than two months, led by a slump in consumer and healthcare firms as investors booked profits after a recent strong rally.