Key gauges trade flat with positive bias in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks traded flat with a positive bias in morning deals, on the back of gains in Consumer Durables, Healthcare and Realty space. Traders took some support as ICRA Ratings in its latest report stated that the government is set to exceed the budgeted tax collection target of Rs 22.2 lakh crore for 2021-22, led by indirect taxes, primarily taxes on petroleum products. However, it said despite the second wave of the pandemic, the April-June quarter tax collections rose to Rs 5.6 lakh crore, which is 39 per cent higher than Q1 of FY20. Some support also came as investments in the Indian capital markets through participatory notes (P-notes) rose to Rs 92,261 crore till the end of June, making it the highest level in 37 months. This also marks the third consecutive monthly growth. However, gains remain capped as some concern came with report by Omidyar Network India and Crisil stating that the second COVID-19 wave has intensified pressure points for small and mini NBFCs, as they did not get the benefit of the RBI's liquidity measures announced last year. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street on Friday. Traders remain concerned as the nation's the biggest cities are under strict lockdown amid the resurgence in coronavirus cases.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 53001.80, up by 26.00 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 52783.63 and 53052.68. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.31%, while Small cap index was up by 0.72%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.83%, Healthcare up by 0.81%, Realty up by 0.77%, Basic Materials up by 0.76% and IT up by 0.66%, while Bankex down by 0.31%, Oil & Gas down by 0.23%, Auto down by 0.21%, Energy down by 0.20% and Power down by 0.19% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan Co up by 1.42%, Infosys up by 1.26%, Sun Pharma up by 1.21%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.04% and Asian Paints up by 0.85%. On the flip side, SBI down by 1.20%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.15%, HDFC down by 0.63%, Axis Bank down by 0.57% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.42% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with the first quarter of current fiscal gross tax mop-up reaching Rs 5.6 lakh crore, ICRA Ratings in its latest report has said that the government is set to exceed the budgeted tax collection target of Rs 22.2 lakh crore for 2021-22, led by indirect taxes, primarily taxes on petroleum products. However, it said despite the second wave of the pandemic, the April-June quarter tax collections rose to Rs 5.6 lakh crore, which is 39 per cent higher than Q1 of FY20. As stated differently, this is 107 per cent more than Q1 of FY21 and 25.1 per cent of the full-year target.

According to the report, the first quarter is traditionally moderate for tax collection, as the economic activity remains tepid. The revenue department is yet to officially release tax collection data, but the finance ministry informed the Lok Sabha on July 19 that Q1 tax revenue mop-up reached Rs 5.6 lakh crore. The ministry also informed the House that the excise duty on petrol and diesel fetched Rs 94,181 crore in Q1.

The report stated that Q1 collections at Rs 5.6 trillion is 107 per cent higher than Rs 2.7 lakh crore in Q1 of FY21, when the whole country was under lockdown last year. But more meaningfully, this is a full 39 per cent more than the pre-COVID level in Q1 of FY20. It further said while corporation tax, personal income tax and Central GST receipts in Q1 stood at 21-22 per cent of the budget estimates, excise and customs collections already crossed 30 per cent of the budget estimate, boosted by the high taxes on fuels as well as a relatively faster recovery in international trade.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15863.55, up by 7.50 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 15797.00 and 15880.80. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Titan Company up by 1.41%, Britannia Industries up by 1.33%, Divi's Lab up by 1.23%, Hindalco up by 1.15% and Bajaj Finserv up by 1.13%. On the flip side, JSW Steel down by 1.41%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.27%, SBI down by 1.05%, Axis Bank down by 0.76% and SBI Life Insurance down by 0.66% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Hang Seng decreased 794.92 points or 2.91% to 26,527.06, Taiwan Weighted dropped 123.19 points or 0.7% to 17,449.73, Shanghai Composite declined 77.27 points or 2.18% to 3,473.13, KOSPI fell 20.36 points or 0.63% to 3,234.06, Straits Times trembled 17.02 points or 0.54% to 3,140.03. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite soared 8.49 points or 0.14% to 6,110.18 and Nikkei 225 surged 286.96 points or 1.04% to 27,834.96.