Local equities continue sluggish trade

Local equity benchmarks continued their sluggish trade in morning session, with Sensex and Nifty falling more than 225 and 50 points, respectively. Selling was broad based with both mid cap and small cap indices were trading down by around 0.30%. Sentiments remained pessimistic with a report that GST collections in September 2019 declined by 2.67% from the year-ago month; there was only one precedent (of August 2018) earlier of the GST collections in any month being lower than in the year-ago month. Some cautiousness came in with India Ratings and Research’s report that the corporate tax cut will help India Inc. save up to Rs 65,000 crore of outgo in FY20, but is unlikely to meet the aim of stimulating private sector CAPEX in the medium-term. However, traders failed to get some sense of relief from a private report that the Reserve Bank of India is expected to cut benchmark interest rates for the fifth time this year as recent fiscal measures to boost ailing growth seem largely inadequate and benign inflation offers room for more easing.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in red, after US markets declined overnight because the United States opened a new trade war front by saying it will impose tariffs on $7.5 billion of goods from the European Union. Back home, World Economic Forum (WEF) reported that India, a young economy with lot of potential, has demonstrated remarkable strength and resilience amid global slowdown. Besides, the country can play a crucial role in the development of South Asia and sustainability of global economic growth.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 38076.11, down by 229.30 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 37957.56 and 38284.00. There were 12 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index slipped 0.29%, while Small cap index was down by 0.31%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.30%, Oil & Gas up by 0.86%, IT up by 0.50%, TECK up by 0.41% and Energy was up by 0.20%, while Metal down by 2.02%, Capital Goods down by 1.56%, Basic Materials down by 0.91%, Telecom down by 0.87% and BANKEX was down by 0.84% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank up by 23.75%, Tata Motors up by 4.25%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 3.78%, ICICI Bank up by 1.24% and HCL Tech was up by 1.17%. On the flip side, IndusInd Bank down by 3.82%, Vedanta down by 2.64%, Axis Bank down by 2.37%, Larsen & Toubro down by 1.91% and HDFC was down by 1.81% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the finance ministry in its latest data has showed that Goods and services tax (GST) collection dropped to a 19-month low of Rs 91,916 crore in September 2019 witch was 2.67% lower than the collection in the corresponding month last year at Rs 94,442 crore and 6.4% below the last month’s figure of Rs 98,202 crore.

The central GST collection in September was lower at Rs 16,630 crore compared to Rs 17,733 crore in August. The state GST collection was Rs 22,598 crore, compared to Rs 24,239 crore the previous month. The integrated GST mop-up was also lower at Rs 45,069 crore against Rs 50,612 crore in August.

It is the second straight month when the collection has fallen below the Rs 1-trillion mark. This is expected to compound the government’s revenue woes, amid a steep target for 2019-20. The government’s monthly GST collection target is around Rs 1.18 trillion. In the first six months of current financial year (FY20), the GST collection grew by 4.9% compared to the year-ago period.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11303.55, down by 56.35 points or 0.50% after trading in a range of 11257.35 and 11353.40. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Yes Bank up by 22.50%, Zee Entertainment up by 4.25%, Tata Motors up by 4.08%, BPCL up by 2.38% and Indian Oil Corporation was up by 1.88%. On the flip side, IndusInd Bank down by 3.73%, Hindalco down by 3.45%, Coal India down by 2.96%, Vedanta down by 2.61% and Axis Bank was down by 2.00% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading in red, Nikkei 225 slipped 433.91 points or 1.99% to 21,344.70, Hang Seng decreased 133.23 points or 0.51% to 25,909.46, Taiwan Weighted dropped 67.11 points or 0.61% to 10,880.77, Jakarta Composite lost 42.43 points or 0.7% to 6,013.00 and Straits Times trembled 29.42 points or 0.95% to 3,074.03.