Indian equity benchmarks ended flat on Wednesday. Indices made a positive start of the day, after the government data showed that Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation eased to 4.59 per cent in December 2020 compared to 6.93 per cent in November. Food inflation declined to 3.41 per cent in December, compared to 9.5 per cent in the previous month. Besides, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has launched an automated dedicated e-portal on the e-filing website of the Department to receive and process complaints of tax evasion, foreign undisclosed assets as well as complaints regarding benami properties.
Markets cut all of their gains in late morning deals to turn negative, as traders got cautious, after the State Bank of India’s (SBI) Ecowrap report has said India's fiscal deficit in the current financial year (FY21) is likely to reach 7.4 per cent of the GDP on the back of enhanced government expenditure amid the pandemic. The report noted that as per the first advanced estimate of the GDP, real GDP will contract by 7.7 per cent in FY21, and nominal GDP growth is expected at (-) 4.2 per cent. Accordingly, the nominal GDP for FY22 would grow by 15 per cent to Rs 224.04 lakh crore.
Sentiments remained negative during noon deals, as India’s factory output or Index of Industrial Production (IIP) contracted 1.9 percent for November 2020 mainly due to poor showing by manufacturing and mining sectors. Industrial production of the country had grown at 3.6 per cent in October 2020 and 2.1 per cent in November 2019. However, in the last hour of the trade, indices staged recovery to end flat, amid report that a mega immunisation drive against Covid-19 has kicked off with nine flights transporting over 5.6 million doses of the vaccine to 13 cities across the country on Tuesday.
On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in green, as investors monitor vaccine rollouts and coronavirus containment measures. Asian market ended mostly higher on Wednesday, even after a measure of the public assessment of the Japanese economy decreased for the second month in a row in December. The survey data from the Cabinet Office showed that the current conditions index of the Economy Watchers' Survey, which measures the current situation of the economy, decreased to 35.5 in December from 45.6 in November. However, a reading below 50 suggests pessimism. The outlook index that signals future activity rose to 37.1 in December from 36.5 in the previous month. In October, the reading was 49.1.
The BSE Sensex ended at 49492.32, down by 24.79 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 49073.85 and 49795.19. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)
The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.63%, while Small cap index was down by 0.38%. (Provisional)
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 1.61%, Telecom up by 1.32%, Auto up by 0.84%, Oil & Gas up by 0.67% and Bankex up by 0.61%, while Consumer Durables down by 1.04%, Healthcare down by 0.80%, Energy down by 0.46%, Realty down by 0.30% and Consumer Disc down by 0.28% were the losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)
The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 6.24%, SBI up by 4.80%, ITC up by 2.35%, NTPC up by 2.24% and Bharti Airtel up by 2.21%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 2.85%, HDFC down by 2.76%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.95%, Titan Co down by 1.48% and Sun Pharma down by 1.25% were the top losers. (Provisional)
Meanwhile, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has launched an automated dedicated e-portal on the e-filing website of the Department to receive and process complaints of tax evasion, foreign undisclosed assets as well as complaints regarding benami properties. The step has been taken towards e-governance and encouraging participation of citizen as stakeholders in curbing tax evasion.
The facility allows for filing of complaints by persons who are existing PAN/Aadhaar holders as well as for persons having no PAN /Aadhaar. After an OTP based validation process (mobile and/or email), the complainant can file complaints in respect of violations of the Income- tax Act, 1961, Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Assets and Income) Imposition of Tax Act, 1961 and Prevention of Benami Transactions Act (as amended) in three separate forms designed for the purpose.
Upon successful filing of the complaint, the Department will allot a unique number to each complaint and the complainant would be able to view the status of the complaint on the Department’s website. This e-portal is yet another initiative of the Income Tax Department to bring about enhanced ease of interaction with the Department, while strengthening its resolve towards e-governance.
The CNX Nifty ended at 14564.85, up by 1.40 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 14435.70 and 14653.35. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)
The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 6.22%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 4.97%, SBI up by 4.89%, Indian Oil Corporation up by 3.06% and NTPC up by 2.40%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 2.79%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.76%, Shree Cement down by 2.53%, UPL down by 1.95% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.85% were the top losers. (Provisional)
European markets were trading mostly in green, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 3.16 points or 0.05% to 6,757.27 and France’s CAC was up by 4.93 points or 0.09% to 5,655.90. On the flip side, Germany’s DAX was down by 13.59 points or 0.1% to 13,911.47.
Asian market ended mostly higher on Wednesday, tracking Wall Street’s gains overnight on hopes that the incoming Biden administration would ramp up US distribution of Covid-19 vaccines and spend more on fiscal stimulus to help the US economy. Japanese shares ended higher even after the government plans to expand the nation's second state of emergency to seven more prefectures as the corona virus pandemic worsened in areas beyond Tokyo. However, Chinese shares ended lower amid lingering worries over Sino-US tensions as Donald Trump's administration pushed through a ban on Americans investing in 35 firms it considers to be linked to China's military, while surging corona virus infections too added pressure on sentiment. .
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,598.65 | -9.69 | -0.27 |
Hang Seng | 28,235.60 | -41.15 | -0.15 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,435.20 | 39.53 | 0.62 |
KLSE Composite | 1,636.69 | 24.65 | 1.53 |
Nikkei 225 | 28,456.59 | 292.25 | 1.04 |
Straits Times | 2,977.51 | 0.34 | 0.01 |
KOSPI Composite | 3,148.29 | 22.34 | 0.71 |
Taiwan Weighted | 15,769.98 | 269.28 | 1.74 |
