Post Session: Quick Review

First trading day of 2022 turned out to be cheerful for Indian equity benchmarks, with both Sensex and Nifty ending near their intraday high points. Markets made an optimistic start as the Finance Ministry said GST revenue collected in December 2021 was over Rs 1.29 lakh crore, 13 per cent higher than the same month last year. The gross GST revenue collected in the month of December 2021 is Rs 1,29,780 crore, of which CGST is Rs 22,578 crore, SGST is Rs 28,658 crore, IGST is Rs 69,155 crore and cess is Rs 9,389 crore.

Traders remained positive, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the country's economic growth rate is over 8 per cent. Sentiments also remained optimistic amid reports that non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) showed resilience in 2021 despite the coronavirus pandemic woes and are expected to witness continued momentum in growth this year. This year, the growth will be driven by the uptick in the economy, stronger balance sheet, higher provisions and improved capital positions of NBFCs.

Indices maintained gaining rally during the second half of the trading session, taking support 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. Besides, the central government's fiscal deficit at the end of November worked out to be 46.2 percent of the annual budget target for the financial year 2021-22 due to an improvement in the revenue collection.

Traders also took a note of a private survey showing that 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, European markets were trading mostly in green. Asian markets ended mostly higher, after the manufacturing sector in Malaysia continued to expand in December, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Markit Economics revealed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 52.8. That's up from 52.3 in November and it moved further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The BSE Sensex ended at 59183.22, up by 929.40 points or 1.60% after trading in a range of 58306.45 and 59266.39. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.10%, while Small cap index up by 1.19%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 2.55%, Metal up by 2.12%, Basic Materials up by 1.72%, PSU up by 1.61% and Energy up by 1.53%, while Healthcare down by 0.21% was the only losing index on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 3.50%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.49%, ICICI Bank up by 3.31%, Tata Steel up by 2.85% and Indusind Bank up by 2.79%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.13%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.91%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.34% and Nestle down by 0.04% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, Indian manufacturing activity fell in the month of December, but stayed above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction. As per the survey report, the Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) - a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance - eased to 55.5 in December from November's ten-month high of 57.6.

The report further noted that companies continued with their stock-building initiatives, as evidenced by another robust upturn in buying levels. Business confidence strengthened, but sentiment was again dampened by concerns surrounding supply-chain disruptions, COVID-19 and inflationary pressures.

According to the report, spending trends were mixed, with employment falling fractionally in response to a lack of pressure on capacity, but firms purchasing additional inputs amid restocking efforts. Buying levels increased substantially in the latest month.

On the inflation front, the rate of inflation eased to a three-month low, but remained sharp and above its long-run average. Besides, output charges rose as some companies transferred higher cost burdens through to clients, but the overall rate of inflation was only slight and the weakest since October 2020.

The CNX Nifty ended at 17625.70, up by 271.65 points or 1.57% after trading in a range of 17383.30 and 17646.65. There were 44 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 6.33%, Eicher Motors up by 4.90%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.51%, Bajaj Finance up by 3.47% and ICICI Bank up by 3.32%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 1.44%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.10%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.88%, Divi's Lab down by 0.58% and Tech Mahindra down by 0.32% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in green, France’s CAC increased 68.37 points or 0.96% to 7,221.40 and Germany’s DAX was up by 147.85 points or 0.93% to 16,032.71.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Monday in spite of weakness in Wall Street last Friday. Many markets including China and Japan closed for holidays. Seoul shares gained as retail and foreign investors bought stocks after strong manufacturing and exports data. While activity in South Korea's factories expanded at its fastest pace in three months in December, the country's exports rose 25.8 percent in 2021 from the previous year to reach an all-time high, separate reports showed. However, Johns Hopkins University data showed that Omicron worries remained with the global number of cases topping 290 million as of January 3. Hong Kong shares declined on fresh fears about the health of China's property market after shares of Evergrande Group were suspended trading in Hong Kong amid the company's huge debt crisis, the company doesn’t give any reason for the trading suspension. Meanwhile, investors are also awaited China's Caixin manufacturing and service PMIs due later in the week for directional cues.