Markets trade lower after gap-down opening

Indian equity benchmarks made gap-down opening on Monday tracking muted cues from global peers. Volatility also came in after assembly election result of four states and one union territory. Markets trimmed some of their opening losses in early deals and are trading lower with cut of around half a percent each. Selling in Energy, Consumer Durables and Bankex stocks dragged the markets down, while buying in Metal, FMCG and Auto kept downside in check. Investors are eyeing Markit Manufacturing PMI data scheduled to be out later in the day. Some cautiousness came in as snapping their six-month buying spree, foreign investors turned net sellers in April and pulled out Rs 9,659 crore from Indian equities, spooked by the intense second wave of coronavirus and its fallout on the economy. However, markets managed to trim some losses with the data released by the commerce and industry ministry showing that the growth of India’s eight key infrastructure segments reached a 32-month high of 6.8 per cent in March compared to a year earlier, mainly due to a low base. Some support also came in as the goods and services tax (GST) collections touched a record high at Rs 1.41 trillion in April, surpassing the Rs 1 trillion mark for the seventh straight month in a row during 2020-21. Meanwhile, the commerce ministry's preliminary data showed that India's exports in April jumped nearly three-folds to $30.21 billion from $10.17 billion in the same month last year.

On the global front, most of the Asian markets were trading lower following broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday. The markets are cautious amid the surge in coronavirus cases in the region, particularly in Japan and India, as well as the possibility of lockdowns in several markets. The Japanese stock market is closed for Constitution Memorial Day. China is closed for Labor Day. Back home, banking stocks were in focus as the Reserve Bank of India has decided to review and strengthen the Risk Based Supervision (RBS) of the banking sector with a view to enable financial sector players to address the emerging challenges. Shares of auto companies will be in focus as investors will react to the auto sales figures for the month of April. In scrip specific development, Reliance Industries fell despite reporting sharply higher profit in Q4FY21.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 48442.27, down by 340.09 points or 0.70% after trading in a range of 48028.07 and 48458.97. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.53%, while Small cap index was up by 0.60%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.64%, FMCG up by 0.46%, Auto up by 0.35%, Healthcare up by 0.21%, Basic Materials up by 0.18%, while Energy down by 1.37%, Consumer Durables down by 1.31%, Bankex down by 1.27%, Oil & Gas down by 0.66%, Telecom down by 0.64% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 1.55%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.29%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.02%, Hindustan Unilever up by 0.78% and Nestle up by 0.51%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 3.24%, SBI down by 2.05%, Reliance Industries down by 1.77%, ICICI Bank down by 1.44% and Axis Bank down by 1.41% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry has said GST collections in April 2021 touched a record high of over Rs 1.41 lakh crore, indicating sustained economic recovery. The revenues for the month of April are 14 per cent higher than Rs 1.23 lakh crore collected in March. During the month, the revenues from domestic transaction (including import of services) are 21 per cent higher over the last month.

The ministry said ‘GST revenues have not only crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark successively for the last seven months but have also shown a steady increase. These are clear indicators of sustained economic recovery during this period. Closer monitoring against fake-billing, deep data analytics using data from multiple sources including GST, income-tax and customs IT systems and effective tax administration have also contributed to the steady increase in tax revenue.’

The gross GST revenue collected in the month of April 2021 is at a record high of Rs 1,41,384 crore, of which CGST is Rs 27,837 crore, SGST Rs 35,621 crore, IGST Rs 68,481 crore (including Rs 29,599 crore collected on import of goods) and cess Rs 9,445 crore (including Rs 981 crore collected on import of goods).  The ministry added despite the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic affecting several parts of the country, Indian businesses have once again shown remarkable resilience by not only complying with the return filing requirements but also paying their GST dues in a timely manner during the month.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 14552.05, down by 79.05 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 14416.25 and 14561.35. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Maruti Suzuki up by 1.78%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.46%, BPCL up by 1.32%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.03% and Bajaj Auto up by 0.97%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 2.99%, SBI down by 1.98%, Reliance Industries down by 1.83%, Shree Cement down by 1.44% and ICICI Bank down by 1.44% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Straits Times declined 43.18 points or 1.34% to 3,175.09, Hang Seng fell 437.01 points or 1.52% to 28,287.87, Taiwan Weighted slipped 210.95 points or 1.20% to 17,355.71, KOSPI rose 4.86 points or 0.15% to 3,152.72 and Jakarta Composite surged 50.47 points or 0.84% to 5,945.15.