Local equities hold positive momentum

Local equity benchmarks continued to trade with healthy gains in the morning trades on account of buying in front line counters. Buying further crept in with a report that outstanding indirect tax payable rose by over 37% between FY16 and FY19 (up to December) but the recoverable direct tax payable went up by over 47% during the same period. Additional support came after Central Statistics Organisation’s report that retail inflation hits a 19-month trough of 2.05% in January, as a deflation in food articles persisted and price pressure in fuel eased. Market-men took some support from Finance Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that now individuals earning up to Rs 9.5 lakh can escape liability by taking advantage of saving schemes. The Minister said he did not propose any change in the tax rate but only provided few rebates which will boost spending and help the economy.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, encouraged by prospects for a resolution to the costly trade dispute between the US and China, which had also sent Wall Street indexes higher. Back home, Care Ratings report has stated that corporate bond issuance fell 13% to Rs 4 lakh crore in the April-December period of fiscal year 2018-19, on the back of higher cost of borrowings amid liquidity challenges in the Non-banking finance companies (NBFC) segment as well as limited pick up in investments.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 36297.26, up by 143.64 points or 0.40% after trading in a range of 36218.67 and 36375.80. There were 13 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.07%, while Small cap index was up by 0.12%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.94%, FMCG up by 0.61%, IT up by 0.57%, Energy up by 0.38% and TECK was up by 0.33%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.75%, Telecom down by 0.66%, PSU down by 0.51%, Capital Goods down by 0.43% and Auto was down by 0.41% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 1.85%, Sun Pharma up by 1.66%, Tata Motors up by 1.12%, HDFC up by 0.97% and Reliance Industries was up by 0.89%. On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.61%, Yes Bank down by 1.10%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.97%, SBI down by 0.73% and Tata Steel was down by 0.66% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, highlighting tax relief to the middle class, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal has said that now individuals earning up to Rs 9.5 lakh can escape liability by taking advantage of saving schemes. He also said that the proposal to raise standard deduction from Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 and hiking Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) limit on interest income from Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000 will provide relief to senior citizens.

The Minister said he did not propose any change in the tax rate but only provided few rebates which will boost spending and help the economy.  The Finance Bill, which contains tax proposals, was passed by the Lok Sabha with voice vote, completing the budgetary process in the lower house. He mentioned  ‘the concessions proposed in the Finance Bill are aimed at helping poor and middle class people living on tight budget...This is interim budget. We have not brought any tax proposal...we will bring them in July.’

Besides, he noted that the government during the last four- and-a-half years tried to benefit every section of society and tax payers. Accordingly, the tax base in the country increased, the tax collection had doubled in the last five years and India has become the fastest growing major economy in the world. He also said higher collections enabled the government to earmark more resources for the socially and economically deprived sections of the society.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 10862.50, up by 31.10 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 10837.10 and 10891.65. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports up by 4.12%, Indiabulls Housing Finance up by 2.73%, ITC up by 1.96%, Sun Pharma up by 1.66% and UPL was up by 1.56%. On the flip side, HPCL down by 2.82%, Zee Entertainment down by 2.65%, BPCL down by 2.51%, Bharti Infratel down by 2.16% and Eicher Motors was down by 1.72% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green, Nikkei 225 surged 308.55 points or 1.48% to 21,172.76, Hang Seng increased 239.10 points or 0.85% to 28,410.43, Straits Times advanced 36.15 points or 1.13% to 3,237.30, Shanghai Composite gained 25.22 points or 0.94% to 2,697.11, Jakarta Composite soared 11.98 points or 0.19% to 6,438.31 and KOSPI was up by 8.88 points or 0.41% to 2,199.35. On the other side, Taiwan Weighted was down by 9.02 points or 0.09% to 10,088.72.