Key indices remain in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in green terrain in morning deals, ahead of weekly expiry of index futures and option contracts. Traders took some support with the finance ministry stating that Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection topped the Rs 1-lakh-crore mark for the second straight month in August at Rs 1.12 lakh crore, signalling accelerating economic activity. However, gains remain capped as trades got anxious with former RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya’s statement that he is worried about US tapering coinciding with RBI's rate tightening, and warned that barring high forex reserves, domestic conditions are the same as the ones during the 2013 'taper tantrums'. Meanwhile, Markets regulator Sebi eased the framework about the time period for introducing liquidity enhancement schemes on securities by stock exchanges. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in red as investors looked beyond weak economic data that weighed on the dollar to focus on the likely continuation of massive central bank stimulus measures.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57460.76, up by 122.55 points or 0.21% after trading in a range of 57287.79 and 57512.08. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.58%, while Small cap index was up by 0.56%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 1.53%, Consumer Durables up by 1.01%, Basic Materials up by 0.99%, Realty up by 0.98% and Capital Goods up by 0.77%, while Auto down by 0.54% was the top losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever up by 2.53%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.88%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.76%, Titan Company up by 1.28% and TCS up by 1.06%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.03%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.90%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.73%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.68% and Bajaj Finance down by 0.67% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the finance ministry has said that Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection topped the Rs 1-lakh-crore mark for the second straight month in August at Rs 1.12 lakh crore, signalling accelerating economic activity. The tax collections in August on goods sold and services rendered was 30 percent higher than Rs 86,449 crore collected in August 2020, and 14 percent higher than Rs 98,202 crore collected in August 2019. Sequentially, however, there was a 3.76 per cent dip in August 2021 collection vis-a-vis Rs 1.16 lakh crore mopped up in July 2021.

The ministry has stated that of the Rs 1,12,020 crore revenues in August, Central GST was Rs 20,522 crore, State GST Rs 26,605 crore, and Integrated GST stood at Rs 56,247 crore (including Rs 26,884 crore collected on import of goods). Compensation Cess Rs 8,646 crore was collected, of which import of goods contributed Rs 646 crore. During August this year, the revenues from domestic transactions (including import of services) were 27 per cent higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year.

It further said the GST collection, after posting above the Rs 1-lakh-crore mark for nine months in a row, dropped below Rs 1 lakh crore in June 2021, after the second wave of COVID caused a blip. With the easing out of COVID restrictions, GST collection for July and August 2021 have again crossed Rs 1 lakh crore, which clearly indicates that the economy is recovering at a fast pace. Coupled with economic growth, anti-evasion activities, especially action against fake billers have also been contributing to the enhanced GST collections. The robust GST revenues are likely to continue in the coming months too.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17117.55, up by 41.30 points or 0.24% after trading in a range of 17059.70 and 17132.30. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC Life Insurance up by 3.79%, Shree Cement up by 3.04%, Hindustan Unilever up by 2.25%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.22% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 1.77%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 1.63%, Indian Oil Corp. down by 1.04%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.00%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.87% and Tata Motors down by 0.80% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Taiwan Weighted dropped 133.41 points or 0.76% to 17,340.58, KOSPI fell 30.44 points or 0.95% to 3,176.58, Jakarta Composite lost 16.70 points or 0.27% to 6,074.23 and Straits Times trembled 9.38 points or 0.3% to 3,078.46.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite gained 19.55 points or 0.55% to 3,586.65, Hang Seng increased 19.66 points or 0.08% to 26,047.95 and Nikkei 225 surged 70.21 points or 0.25% to 28,521.23.