Benchmarks trade lower after positive start

Indian equity benchmarks extended their previous session’s gains with positive start on Monday. But, soon markets wiped out all gains and entered into red territory amid mixed cues from Asian peers. Indices are trading lower with losses of around quarter a percent each in early deals due to selling in Healthcare, Metal and Bankex stocks. Some cautiousness came in with a private report that the excise duty cuts on diesel and petrol will cost Rs 45,000 crore and lead to a 0.3 percentage point widening in the Centre’s fiscal deficit. However, downside remained capped as industry chamber PHDCCI said India's economic recovery gained momentum in recent months on the back of rapid progress in vaccinations, festive season and consequent improvement in consumer and industry sentiments. The PHDCCI Economy GPS Index for October 2021 increased to 131 as compared with 113.1 in the previous month. Meanwhile, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued refunds of over Rs 1,12,400 crore to more than 91 lakh taxpayers from April 1 to November 1.

On the global front, Asian markets traded mixed following the positive cues from Wall Street on Friday, as traders react to better than expected employment data from the U.S. and the spike in crude oil prices. The upbeat jobs data added to optimism about the outlook for the economy despite lingering concerns about supply chain issues and rising inflation. Back home, banking stocks were in focus as RBI data showed that bank credit grew by 6.84 per cent to Rs 110.46 lakh crore and deposits by 9.94 per cent to Rs 157.12 lakh crore in the fortnight ended October 22. In scrip specific development, IndusInd Bank was the biggest loser, down over 10%, amid reports of lapses in governance and accounting norms related to allegedly 'evergreen' loans running into thousands of crores since the outbreak of Covid-19.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59891.82, down by 175.80 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 59836.78 and 60434.38. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.26%, while Small cap index was down by 0.04%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Telecom up by 1.32%, Capital Goods up by 1.01%, Power up by 0.71%, Industrials up by 0.69%, PSU up by 0.63%, while Healthcare down by 1.37%, Metal down by 0.79%, Bankex down by 0.73%, Energy down by 0.52%, FMCG down by 0.52% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 1.76%, Titan Company up by 1.43%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 1.23%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.06% and Tech Mahindra up by 1.05%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 10.33%, Sun Pharma down by 1.06%, Asian Paints down by 1.01%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.99% and Reliance Industries down by 0.94% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over India’s economic growth, the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) has said that the country’s economic recovery gained momentum in recent months on the back of rapid progress in vaccinations, festive season and consequent improvement in consumer and industry sentiments. The PHDCCI Economy GPS Index for October 2021 increased to 131 as compared with 113.1 in the previous month. During the April-October 2021 period, it stood at 114.8 as compared with 78.7 in the previous financial year.

However, its President Pradeep Multani said that at this juncture, there is a need to address the high commodity prices and shortages of raw materials to support the consumption and private investments in the country. Multani said the drivers of household consumption need to be further strengthened to enhance the aggregate demand as it will have an accelerated effect on the expansion of capital investments. The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) Economy GPS Index is a composite index of three lead economic and business indicators with a base year at 2018-19=100, which measures the broad economic and business activity.

The PHDCCI Economy GPS Index, based on the monthly values of three high-frequency indicators viz., GST collection (Rs crore), passenger vehicle sales (units) and Sensex (daily average), helps to find the direction of the economy. The chamber said GST collections indicate the momentum of business activity, passenger vehicle sales is a broad indicator of demand activity in the economy and the movement of the Sensex indicates the mood of both domestic and foreign investors.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17872.45, down by 44.35 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 17837.70 and 18040.20. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors up by 2.82%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.88%, Titan Company up by 1.46%, Tata Motors up by 1.45% and Grasim Industries up by 1.33%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 10.21%, Divi's Lab down by 8.04%, Hindalco down by 1.68%, Sun Pharma down by 1.13% and JSW Steel down by 1.08% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Straits Times rose 16.67 points or 0.51% to 3,259.01, Taiwan Weighted added 63.75 points or 0.37% to 17,360.65, Jakarta Composite advanced 49.02 points or 0.74% to 6,630.81 and Shanghai Composite was up by 3.47 points or 0.10% to 3,495.04. On the other hand, Nikkei 225 declined 74.49 points or 0.25% to 29,537.08, Hang Seng slipped 136.18 points or 0.55% to 24,734.33 and KOSPI fell 30.75 points or 1.04% to 2,938.52.