Markets continue to trade in red in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in red terrain in morning deals, on account of selling in Reliance Industries, HCL Technologies and TCS stocks. Some concern also came with a private report that the pandemic-induced growth contraction and additional spending to support the needy amounting to a little over 2 percent of the economy are likely to push the combined fiscal deficit to 13 percent of GDP this fiscal - nearly double of the past year. Traders overlooked the Ministry of Finance’s statement the Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collections for the month of October 2020 were Rs 1,05,155 crore, which is 10 percent higher than October 2019. This made it the first time monthly revenues crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark in FY21. On the sectoral front, power stocks were in focus with the power ministry data showing that India's power consumption grew 13.38 per cent to 110.94 billion units (BU) in October this year, mainly driven by buoyancy in industrial and commercial activities. Electricity consumption in the country was recorded at 97.84 BU in October 2019.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, as the National Bureau of Statistics said China’s manufacturing activity expanded in October for the eighth straight month, though at a slightly slower rate than in September. The Purchasing Managers’ Index stood at 51.4, down from 51.5 the previous month, the agency announced. A reading above 50 in the monthly survey of companies indicates expansion.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 39385.96, down by 228.11 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 39334.92 and 39880.46. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.10%, while Small cap index was down by 0.58%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 2.43%, Bankex up by 1.80%, Realty up by 1.12%, Power up by 1.10% and Capital Goods up by 0.57%, while Energy down by 4.32%, Oil & Gas down by 1.90%, IT down by 1.19%, Healthcare down by 0.94% and TECK down by 0.72% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 4.34%, ICICI Bank up by 4.31%, Bharti Airtel up by 3.87%, NTPC up by 1.43% and SBI up by 1.35%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 4.37%, HCL Technologies down by 2.11%, TCS down by 1.78%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.52% and Asian Paints down by 1.09% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, pointing to incipient signs of economic recovery, the Ministry of Finance has said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collections for the month of October 2020 were Rs 1,05,155 crore, which is 10 percent higher than October 2019. This made it the first time monthly revenues crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark in FY21.

The Ministry said that of the total collection in October 2020, CGST was Rs 19,193 crore, SGST was Rs 25,411 crore, IGST was Rs 52,540 crore and cess was Rs 8,011 crore. The total revenue earned by Central Government and the State Governments after regular settlement in the month of October, 2020 is Rs 44,285 crore for CGST and Rs 44,839 crore for the SGST.

In October 2020, the central government settled Rs 25,091 crore to CGST and Rs 9,427 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement. The finance ministry also said 80 lakh GSTR-3B returns were filed during the month.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 11622.55, down by 19.85 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 11557.40 and 11697.35. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 6.93%, ICICI Bank up by 4.43%, Bharti Airtel up by 3.41%, Axis Bank up by 2.79% and SBI up by 2.75%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 4.61%, Divis Lab down by 2.29%, Eicher Motors down by 1.89%, BPCL down by 1.83% and TCS down by 1.52% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 325.23 points or 1.42% to 23,302.36, Hang Seng increased 212.44 points or 0.88% to 24,319.86, KOSPI rose 26.21 points or 1.16% to 2,293.36 and Straits Times advanced 15.98 points or 0.66% to 2,439.82.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 1.62 points or 0.05% to 3,222.91, Jakarta Composite lost 15.31 points or 0.3% to 5,112.92 and Taiwan Weighted dropped 18.30 points or 0.15% to 12,528.04.