Benchmarks continue to trade on negative note in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade on a negative note in morning deals tracking weakness across global markets. Traders remained cautious as India's external debt stood at USD 571.3 billion at end-June, recording an increase of USD 1.6 billion over its level at the end of March 2021. Traders overlooked private survey stating that India’s manufacturing activity recovered slightly in September, from a slowdown in growth in the previous month of August as strengthening demand conditions amid the easing of COVID-19 restrictions boosted sales. According to the monthly IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey, manufacturing PMI stood at 53.7 in September, up from 52.3 in August. Market participants also paid no heed towards veteran banker KV Kamath’s statement that the country's economy is set for a stronger performance going forward, driven by growth in large corporates, agriculture and most importantly digital startup sector.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in red, as investors fretted about the timing and pace of the Fed's monetary easing plan. Traders also remain concerned about the coronavirus situation in the region and other countries, particularly the U.S., which is hindering economic activity. Back home, on the sectoral front, hotel industry’s stocks remained in action as Icra’s report stated that the hotel industry is expected to clock at least 45-50 per cent of pre-Covid revenues in this financial year as demand has recovered sharply post the second wave of the pandemic aided by easing of restrictions during the July-September period.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58783.50, down by 342.86 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 58571.47 and 58889.77. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.08%, while Small cap index up by 0.23%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.62%, Metal up by 0.38%, Oil & Gas up by 0.27%, Basic Materials up by 0.23% and Energy up by 0.02%, while Telecom down by 0.93%, Auto down by 0.89%, Realty down by 0.69%, FMCG down by 0.49% and Bankex down by 0.48% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 0.91%, Tata Steel up by 0.91%, Power Grid Corporation up by 0.82%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.48% and Bajaj Auto up by 0.43%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.71%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.38%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.99%, Asian Paints down by 1.65% and HDFC down by 1.41% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) in its latest data has said that the government's fiscal deficit stood at Rs 4.68 lakh crore or 31.1 per cent of the Budget estimates at the end of August 2021. The deficit figure in the current fiscal appears much better than the previous financial year when it had soared to 109.3 per cent of the estimates, mainly on account of a jump in expenditure to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the data, in absolute terms, the fiscal deficit or gap between expenditure and revenue was Rs 4,68,009 crore at end of August. For the current financial year, the government expects the deficit at 6.8 per cent of GDP or Rs 15,06,812 crore. It also stated that the central government's total receipts stood at Rs 8.08 lakh crore or 40.9 per cent of the corresponding Budget Estimate (BE) 2021-22 up to August, 2021.

It further indicated that the total receipts were 16.8 per cent of the BE of 2020-21 during the corresponding period of the last financial year. Of the total receipts, the tax revenue was Rs 6.44 lakh crore or 41.7 per cent of BE. The tax revenue was only 17.4 per cent of BE of 2020-21 in the year-ago period. Centre's total expenditure was Rs 12.76 lakh crore or 36.7 per cent of BE up to August 2021. The fiscal deficit for 2020-21 was 9.3 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), better than 9.5 per cent projected in the revised estimates in the Budget in February.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17522.80, down by 95.35 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 17452.90 and 17536.50. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indian Oil Corp. up by 1.20%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.02%, JSW Steel up by 1.02%, Tata Steel up by 0.88% and ONGC up by 0.83%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 2.73%, Bajaj Finserv down by 2.44%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.95%, Asian Paints down by 1.68% and HDFC down by 1.66% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 712.40 points or 2.42% to 28,740.26, Taiwan Weighted dropped 413.54 points or 2.44% to 16,521.23, Jakarta Composite lost 50.81 points or 0.81% to 6,236.13, KOSPI fell 50.45 points or 1.64% to 3,018.37 and Straits Times trembled 35.42 points or 1.15% to 3,051.28.