Local equities continue positive momentum

Local equity markets continued their firm trade in morning deals, with Sensex and Nifty garnering gains of around half a percent. Traders remain encouraged as manufacturing PMI data showed that the Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index increased to 52.7 in May from April's eight-month low of 51.8, remaining above the 50-mark threshold that separates growth from contraction for a 22nd straight month. Domestic sentiment was buoyed on report that GST collections touched Rs 1 lakh crore in May, as compared to Rs 94,016 crore in the year ago period. The gross collection in May at Rs 1,00,289 crore is, however, lower than Rs 1,13,865 crore collected in April. Investors took note of a report that Reserve Bank of India may go for another round of rate cut, third in a row, to prop up the economic growth which dropped to a five-year low in the final quarter of 2018-19. Traders ignored a report that President Donald Trump has terminated India’s designation as a beneficiary developing nation under the key GSP trade programme after determining that it has not assured the US that it will provide ‘equitable and reasonable access to its markets.’

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red, following global losses as Wall Street clocked its worst month this year, with investors opting for safe-haven assets in the wake of intensifying trade tensions. Back home, Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) reported that Gems and jewellery exports declined 5.32 per cent to $30.96 billion in 2018-19 as compared to $32.7 billion in 2017-18, mainly on account of slowdown in demand in major developed markets.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39906.94, up by 192.74 points or 0.49% after trading in a range of 39711.02 and 39935.80. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.45%, while Small cap index was down by 0.06%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.12%, Consumer Durables up by 1.03%, Consumer Disc up by 0.87%, IT up by 0.73% and TECK was up by 0.65% while, Capital Goods down by 0.25%, Realty down by 0.01% and BANKEX was down by 0.01% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hero MotoCorp up by 4.53%, Bajaj Auto up by 3.41%, Asian Paints up by 2.90%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.44% and Sun Pharma was up by 1.40%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 1.51%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.84%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.59%, SBI down by 0.57% and ITC was down by 0.54% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry has said Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections touched Rs 1 lakh crore in May 2019 as compared to Rs 94,016 crore in the year ago period. The total gross GST revenue collected in the month of May, 2019 was Rs 1,00,289 crore of which CGST  (Central GST) was Rs 17,811 crore, SGST (State GST) was Rs 24,462 crore, IGST (Integrated GST) was Rs 49,891 crore and Cess was Rs 8,125 crore. However, the gross collection in May was lower than Rs 1,13,865 crore collected in April 2019.

An amount of Rs 18,934 crore has been released to the states as GST compensation for the months of February-March, 2019. A total of 72.45 lakh GSTR-3B returns were filed in the month of May, higher than 72.13 lakh in April.

As per the budget estimate for the current financial year (FY20), the average monthly GST collection is pegged at 1.14 lakh crore. The average of the first two months of the fiscal is below the required rate, though the collection has breached the 1-lakh crore mark for three consecutive months for the first time since GST was implemented.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11982.95, up by 60.15 points or 0.50% after trading in a range of 11920.10 and 11986.65. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hero MotoCorp up by 4.73%, Bajaj Auto up by 3.66%, Asian Paints up by 2.97%, Britannia Industries up by 2.23% and Indian Oil Corporation was up by 1.99%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 1.74%, Hindalco down by 1.19%, Zee Entertainment down by 0.84%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.81% and ITC was down by 0.57% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 238.51 points or 1.16% to 20,362.68, Hang Seng decreased 66.31 points or 0.25% to 26,834.78, Taiwan Weighted dropped 25.13 points or 0.24% to 10,473.36, Shanghai Composite declined 8.68 points or 0.3% to 2,890.02 and Straits Times was down by 3.60 points or 0.12% to 3,114.16. On the other hand; KOSPI was up by 22.75 points or 1.11% to 2,064.49.