Domestic markets trade higher in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks opened on flat note on Thursday amid mixed global cues. Soon, markets gained momentum and are trading higher with gains of over half a percent each in early deals on account of buying in Oil & Gas, Consumer Durables and Power stocks. Sentiments got a boost as India's merchandise exports in November rose by 26.49 per cent to $29.88 billion on account of healthy growth in sectors such as engineering, petroleum, chemicals and marine products. Besides, the income tax department said it has issued refunds of over Rs 1.29 lakh crore in 8 months of the current fiscal. This includes Rs 16,691.50 crore worth refunds to 79.70 lakh taxpayers for Assessment Year 2021-22.

On the global front, Asian markets traded mostly higher helped by advances in Chinese real estate shares, though fears about the Omicron variant of the new coronavirus capped gains regionally. Wall Street suffered a late plunge in response to the United States reporting its first case.

Back home, power stocks were in focus as power ministry data showed that India’s power consumption grew by 3.6 per cent in November to 100.42 billion units (BU), showing consistent recovery for the second month in a row. In scrip specific development, NDTV shares were locked at upper circuit after the company signed an exclusive 10-year deal worth Rs 750 crore with Taboola - a global leader in powering content recommendations on the open web.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58009.58, up by 324.79 points or 0.56% after trading in a range of 57680.41 and 58040.78. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.39%, while Small cap index was up by 0.58%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 1.46%, Consumer Durables up by 1.36%, Power up by 1.16%, Utilities up by 1.05%, Energy up by 1.00%, while Realty down by 0.36%, Bankex down by 0.05% were the only losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 3.38%, Titan Company up by 2.24%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.05%, HDFC up by 1.95% and NTPC up by 1.57%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 0.65%, ICICI Bank down by 0.35%, SBI down by 0.26%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.25% and Indusind Bank down by 0.25% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to boost consumption in the economy and enhance the tax base, industry body -- the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) has suggested the rationalisation of direct and indirect tax rates. PHDCCI President Pradeep Multani said refuelling of consumption demand should be the theme of the Budget to have a multiplier effect on production possibilities, private investments and employment creation in the country.

He added that there is also a need to address the high commodity prices and shortages of raw material to support the consumption and private investments. He said basic customs duty should be reduced on raw materials where there is a 100 per cent or more jump in the prices from April 2020. To give a great momentum to exports, he suggested that export income should be made tax-free for MSMEs for three years and income of large enterprises from incremental exports (y-o-y) be made tax-free.

Multani said ‘Lowering the tax rates will increase the tax base and tax-to-GDP ratio. We suggest capping the personal income tax rates flat at 15 per cent with no exemptions. This will enhance the personal disposable income of the individuals’. He also said ‘The rationalisation of the tax slabs will create tremendous demand in the economy, subside the inflationary pressures and enhance the sentiments of producers for production and create employment opportunities for the growing workforce in the country’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17262.85, up by 95.95 points or 0.56% after trading in a range of 17149.30 and 17277.45. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid up by 3.26%, BPCL up by 2.81%, IOC up by 2.42%, Titan Company up by 2.25% and Shree Cement up by 2.16%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 0.79%, ICICI Bank down by 0.45%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.37%, Indusind Bank down by 0.36% and SBI down by 0.34% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly higher; Hang Seng rose 54.47 points or 0.23% to 23,713.39, Taiwan Weighted added 100.40 points or 0.57% to 17,686.39, KOSPI surged 34.24 points or 1.18% to 2,933.96, Jakarta Composite advanced 48.88 points or 0.75% to 6,556.56 and Shanghai Composite was up by 0.14 points to 3,577.03. On the other hand, Nikkei 225 fell 69.26 points or 0.25 to 27,866.36 and Straits Times declined 7.98 points or 0.26% to 3,090.27.