Benchmarks extend gains in morning session

Indian equity benchmarks extended initial gains in morning session, led by gains in Realty, Capital Goods and IT shares. Sentiments remained up-beat with private report that India is likely to have one of the highest rates of growth in the world as there are gradual moves towards normalisation, even as stimulus and support for vulnerable sectors continue. It further said sticking to the announced consolidation path by the government in the upcoming budget will give a good signal of control and predictability. Traders also took a note of private survey showed India's manufacturing sector ended 2021 on a solid footing with growth in new orders and output remaining sharp despite losing some momentum in December, but elevated price pressures were still a concern. The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled and collected by IHS Markit December 6-17, fell to 55.5 in December from November's 57.6 though it stayed above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction for a sixth month.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green following a healthy run-up at the end of last week, with some cheer provided by data suggesting regional economies improved last month. However, investors remain shackled by concerns about a range of issues including the fast-spreading Omicron variant, inflation, the removal of central bank stimulus and geopolitical tensions.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 58837.33, up by 583.51 points or 1.00% after trading in a range of 58306.45 and 58850.59. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.80%, while Small cap index was up by 1.09%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.79%, Capital Goods up by 1.44%, IT up by 1.31%, Bankex up by 1.22% and Industrials up by 1.21%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 2.06%, Axis Bank up by 1.82%, Bajaj Finserv up by 1.74%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.62% and ICICI Bank up by 1.61%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.50%, Titan Company down by 0.45%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.36%, Indusind Bank down by 0.21% and Sun Pharma down by 0.15% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry has said that Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenues grew 13 per cent to over Rs 1.29 lakh crore in December 2021, as compared to Rs 1.15 lakh crore GST revenues in the same month last year, mainly due to pickup in economic activity and anti-evasion steps. Though the collection was lower than Rs 1.31 lakh crore mopped up in November, December is the sixth month in a row when the revenues from goods sold and services rendered stood at over Rs 1 lakh crore.

The gross GST revenue collected in December 2021 is Rs 1,29,780 crore, of which Central GST (CGST) is Rs 22,578 crore, State GST (SGST) is Rs 28,658 crore, Integrated GST (IGST) is Rs 69,155 crore (including Rs 37,527 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 9,389 crore (including Rs 614 crore collected on import of goods).

The average monthly gross GST collection for the third quarter (October-December) of the current year has been Rs 1.30 lakh crore against the average monthly collection of Rs 1.10 lakh crore and Rs 1.15 lakh crore in the first and second quarters, respectively. The ministry said ‘Coupled with economic recovery, anti-evasion activities, especially action against fake billers have been contributing to the enhanced GST. The improvement in revenue has also been due to various rate rationalisation measures undertaken by the Council to correct inverted duty structure’.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17519.10, up by 165.05 points or 0.95% after trading in a range of 17383.30 and 17526.80. There were 40 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 4.01%, Eicher Motors up by 3.32%, Tata Motors up by 2.48%, TCS up by 1.99% and Axis Bank up by 1.69%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 1.25%, Divi's Lab down by 0.60%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.44%, Indusind Bank down by 0.41% and Titan Company down by 0.38% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Jakarta Composite soared 55.52 points or 0.84% to 6,637.00, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 29.17 points or 0.16% to 18,248.01, Straits Times advanced 8.52 points or 0.27% to 3,132.20 and KOSPI rose 6.58 points or 0.22% to 2,984.23, while Hang Seng decreased 144.98 points or 0.62% to 23,252.69.