Local equities continue positive trade

Following strong global cues, local equity benchmarks continued their trade in positive territory in morning session on account of buying in front line counters, with Sensex and Nifty gaining more than 330 and 90 points, respectively. Traders remain encouraged with Minister of State for Finance report which stated that the total net indirect tax collection (inclusive of CGST, IGST and GST-Compensation Cess) in first eight months (April-November) of the current financial year (FY19) was Rs 6,12,653.47 crore. The Budget Estimate (BE) for indirect taxes revenue (inclusive of CGST, IGST and GST-Compensation Cess) for 2018-19 has been fixed at Rs 11.16 lakh crore (Rs 11.16 trillion). However, traders ignored RBI study which showed that a sudden surge in crude prices can upset the nation’s key macro-stability parameters, as it can sharply spike the current account deficit (CAD), inflation and the fiscal numbers, whittling the benefits of higher growth. Besides, overseas investors pulled out over Rs 83,000 crore from the capital markets in 2018, after pouring in a record Rs 2 lakh crore in the preceding year, on the back of rate hikes in the US, rise in global crude prices and rupee depreciation.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green, following the rally on Wall Street on Friday as upbeat US jobs data for the month of December and optimism about US-China trade talks starting later today bolstered investor sentiment. Back home, on the sectoral front, Oil and gas sector stocks were in focus, a report stated that after months of delay, India will launch the second auction of 14 blocks for prospecting of oil and gas in an attempt to raise domestic output to cut imports. The Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) bid round-II, with 14 blocks measuring 29,333 square kilometres in aggregrate area on offer.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36034.19, up by 339.09 points or 0.95% after trading in a range of 35895.78 and 36076.95. There were 29 stocks advancing against 2 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.49%, while Small cap index was up by 0.73%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.20%, Consumer Durables up by 1.64%, Telecom up by 1.44%, Power up by 1.29% and Energy was up by 1.16%, while Healthcare was down by 0.04% was the only losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 3.46%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 3.17%, Indusind Bank up by 3.12%, Axis Bank up by 2.51% and Maruti Suzuki was up by 1.84%. On the flip side, Bajaj Auto down by 0.39% and Kotak Mahindra Bank was down by 0.06% were the only losers.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Finance, Shri Shiv Pratap Shukla has stated that  the total net indirect tax collection (inclusive of CGST, IGST and GST-Compensation Cess) in first eight months (April-November) of the current financial year (FY19) was Rs 6,12,653.47 crore.  The minster further underlined that the revenue target is set for the full financial year, the actual indirect tax collection for FY19 will be known after completion of the current financial year.

The Budget Estimate (BE) for indirect taxes revenue (inclusive of CGST, IGST and GST-Compensation Cess) for 2018-19 has been fixed at Rs 11.16 lakh crore (Rs 11.16 trillion).

Besides, he asserted that various administrative steps have been taken by the Government to achieve the set target for this financial year like; GST rate rationalization to improve the tax compliance, mandatory e-filing and e-payment of taxes, penalty for delayed payment, extensive use of third party sources such as State VAT Department, Income Tax etc. for compliance verification, regular enforcement & compliance verification of tax returns, taxpayer education and media campaign etc.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10822.95, up by 95.60 points or 0.89% after trading in a range of 10782.05 and 10835.95. There were 44 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 3.57%, IndusInd Bank up by 2.94%, Axis Bank up by 2.71%, Titan up by 2.64% and Bharti Infratel was up by 2.05%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 0.96%, Zee Entertainment down by 0.81%, Indiabulls Housing Finance down by 0.78%, Coal India down by 0.42% and Bajaj Auto was down by 0.41% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading in green, Hang Seng increased 183.54 points or 0.72% to 25,809.57, Shanghai Composite gained 10.96 points or 0.44% to 2,525.83, Jakarta Composite soared 49.35 points or 0.79% to 6,323.89, Straits Times advanced 38.96 points or 1.27% to 3,098.19, KOSPI rose 26.47 points or 1.32% to 2,036.72, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 204.60 points or 2.18% to 9,587.11 and Nikkei 225 was up by 541.12 points or 2.77% to 20,103.08.