Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended near their intraday high points on Thursday’s trading session. After a cautious start of the day, key indices remained volatile in the first half of the trading session, as the Ministry of Finance said the gross GST (Goods and Services Tax) revenue for the month of May crossed over Rs 1.40 lakh crore, a 16.6 per cent drop in comparison to April when GST collections were at a record high.

Some concerns came with a private report that even as the government is planning to put a leash on wasteful revenue spending to rein in fiscal deficit, it has decided against trimming the record budgetary capital expenditure target for FY23, betting big on its high multiplier effect to spur growth. The finance ministry has asked various infrastructure ministries to ensure they realise their capex goals and create durable assets.

However, in the second half of the trading session, markets gained traction to end on a higher note, as domestic sentiments were upbeat, after Icra Ratings in its report has said that manufacturing sector capital expenditure is on course for a leg-up with overwhelming responses to the government's production-linked incentives schemes, especially for lithium-ion battery, pharma and solar module segments.

Besides, the Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to expand the mandate of Government e-Marketplace (GeM) by allowing procurement by cooperatives. Presently, the registration of cooperatives as buyers was not covered within the existing mandate of GeM. The move will help over 8.54 lakh registered cooperatives and their 27 crore members as they would get products at competitive rates from the GeM portal.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green. Asian markets ended mostly lower, after the manufacturing sector in South Korea continued to expand in May, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Thursday with a manufacturing PMI score of 51.8. That's down from 52.1 in April, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The BSE Sensex ended at 55818.11, up by 436.94 points or 0.79% after trading in a range of 55135.11 and 55891.92. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.04%, while Small cap index up by 0.60%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 2.33%, Oil & Gas up by 2.14%, IT up by 1.56%, TECK up by 1.55% and Utilities up by 1.07%, while Auto down by 0.65%, Capital Goods down by 0.37% and Bankex down by 0.06% were the only losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Reliance Industries up by 3.64%, Bajaj Finserv up by 3.41%, Sun Pharma up by 2.52%, HCL Tech. up by 2.01% and TCS up by 1.97%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 1.50%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.03%, Power Grid down by 1.00%, HDFC Bank down by 0.75% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.59% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, owing to the diverging growth-inflation dynamics between advanced economies (AEs) and India, credit rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in its latest report has said that domestic interest rates more likely to be guided by domestic factors such as growth, pro-active supply side management by authorities and higher sensitivity of interest rate over aggregate demand owing to the external benchmark linked loans.

According to the report, structural factors such as the elevated supply of bonds by the central and state governments will keep the interest rate trajectory upwards in the short to medium term. In addition to that, abrupt changes in the geopolitical scenario and the subsequent impact on the business environment could lead to volatility in the financial system.

Ind-Ra further noted that risks to growth have increased, amid the geo-political challenges and supply-side constraints. On the other hand, inflation is likely to remain the biggest challenge for the next few months amid all the geo-political tension, and consequently Ind-Ra expects the monetary policy condition to be more focused on controlling inflation and maintaining stability in the financial system and exchange rate market.

The CNX Nifty ended at 16628.00, up by 105.25 points or 0.64% after trading in a range of 16443.05 and 16646.40. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Reliance Industries up by 3.45%, Bajaj Finserv up by 2.69%, Sun Pharma up by 2.42%, HCL Tech. up by 2.14% and TCS up by 2.02%. On the flip side, Apollo Hospital down by 5.05%, Hero MotoCorp down by 3.43%, Eicher Motors down by 1.74%, HDFC down by 1.73% and Power Grid down by 1.59% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in green, France’s CAC increased 66.83 points or 1.04% to 6,485.72 and Germany’s DAX was up by 120.22 points or 0.84% to 14,460.69.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday tracking losses in Wall Street overnight as investors eyed inflation worries. Further, prospects of aggressive Federal tightening spurred by stronger than expected US ISM manufacturing report also weighed on market sentiments. Seoul shares tumbled on growing worries over the threat of recession. A private sector survey showed that South Korea's factory activity growth slowed in May as output and new export orders decreased amid supply-chain disruptions. Although, Chinese shares gained after China's cabinet announced detailed measures to support infrastructure construction and counter economic slowdown.