Indices cut gains in late morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks cut most of their gains in late morning session but remained in green terrain, with both Sensex and Nifty trading near their neutral lines. Positive cues from other Asian markets helped key indices to remain higher. Traders were getting some relief, as the government asked the Reserve Bank to maintain retail inflation at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side for another five-year period ending March 2026. To control the price rise, the government in 2016 gave a mandate to the RBI to keep the retail inflation at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side for a five-year period ending March 31, 2021.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to expand in March, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank showed on Thursday with a seasonally adjusted manufacturing PMI score of 52.7. That's up from 51.4 in February, and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Individually, there were faster increases in output and new orders, while employment levels finally stabilized.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 49562.69, up by 53.54 points or 0.11% after trading in a range of 49478.53 and 49942.84. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.46%, while Small cap index was up by 1.32%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 3.27%, Basic Materials up by 1.77%, Power up by 1.11%, Utilities up by 1.02% and Industrials up by 0.86%, while Realty down by 0.26% and FMCG down by 0.19% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Auto up by 1.97%, HCL Tech up by 1.63%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.28%, NTPC up by 1.08% and Indusind Bank up by 0.96%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.40%, Nestle down by 1.17%, HDFC Bank down by 1.02%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.73% and TCS down by 0.40% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the central government’s fiscal deficit at the end of February stood at 76 per cent of the revised estimate (RE), indicating that it is likely to remain within the projections made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in budget 2021-22. The minister had revised the fiscal deficit projections for 2020-21 to Rs 18.48 lakh crore or 9.5 per cent of the GDP from the original budget estimate of Rs 7.96 lakh crore or 3.5 per cent of the GDP, mainly on account of additional outgo to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

As per the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), the fiscal deficit at the end of February stood at Rs 14.05 lakh crore or 76 per cent of the revised estimates. This compares to 135.2 per cent during the corresponding period of the previous financial year. Government's total receipts during April-February stood at Rs 14,13,096 crore or 88.2 per cent of the revised estimates (RE) presented in the Budget on February 1. The collection was 74 per cent of the estimated in the year ago period.

As per the CGA, the Centre's total expenditure was Rs 28,18,643 crore or 81.7 per cent of the revised estimate. During the same period of the last financial year, it was 91.4 per cent RE. While presenting the Budget 2021-22, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said the government proposes to bring down the fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent of GDP by 2025-26. Fiscal deficit is an indication of the government's borrowing to meet the shortfall between expenditure and receipts from taxes and other sources. The deficit had soared to a high of 4.6 per cent of the GDP in 2019-20, mainly due to poor revenue realisation.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14720.10, up by 29.40 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 14692.45 and 14814.65. There were 32 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were JSW Steel up by 6.17%, Hindalco up by 4.48%, Tata Steel up by 3.11%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.04% and Bajaj Auto up by 2.01%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.55%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.42%, HDFC Bank down by 1.04%, Nestle down by 1.02% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.67% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 190.67 points or 0.65% to 29,369.47, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 125.14 points or 0.76% to 16,556.27, Straits Times advanced 9.09 points or 0.29% to 3,174.43, Hang Seng increased 321.50 points or 1.13% to 28,699.85, KOSPI rose 21.82 points or 0.71% to 3,083.24 and Shanghai Composite gained 8.45 points or 0.25% to 3,450.36. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite lost 13.57 points or 0.23% to 5,971.95.