Benchmarks end higher for third straight session

Extending gains for the third straight session, Indian equity benchmarks ended higher by over half percent on Monday led by strong buying support in heavyweight Titan Company, Axis Bank and Tech Mahindra amid positive moves across global markets. Benchmarks made a positive start, as traders took support with data from Exim Bank showed that India's merchandise exports are expected to grow by 11.4 per cent to hit $114.4 billion during the July-September quarter of the current financial year. Some solace also came as the Finance Ministry said the provisional gross direct tax collections for FY23 till September 8 stood at Rs 6.48 trillion, which is 35.5 per cent higher than the same period last year. Also, strong FIIs' flow supported the Indian markets. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net-bought shares worth Rs 2,132.42 crore on September 9.

Sentiments remained optimistic in afternoon deals, taking support from Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal’s statement that assessing the impact of the foundational changes and structural transformation that has happened in the last few years, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) estimated that India in 2047 will be a $35-45 trillion economy, taking the country into the league of developed nations. Some support also came as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India has made powerful efforts to grow its economy and emerge as a higher-income country, and expressed hope that it will be the fastest growing major economy in the world this year with at least 7 per cent growth despite the challenges posed by the Ukraine crisis. However, gains remain capped as investors remained on sidelines ahead of data on consumer inflation and factory output in the country due later in the day for cues.

On the global front, European markets were trading higher despite concerns about slowing global growth and a massive interest rate hike by the European Central Bank. Asian markets settled higher on Monday amidst a positive global market sentiment ahead of the crucial inflation data from the U.S. on Tuesday. Markets are expected to price in the anticipated decline in consumer price inflation in the U.S. in August to 8.1 percent, from 8.5 percent in the month of July, rejuvenating hopes of a pause in aggressive central bank monetary policy action.

Back home, majority of auto stocks ended higher as automobile industry body Siam said domestic sales of passenger vehicles (PVs) increased by 21.1 per cent in August to 281,210 units, and added that good monsoon and the upcoming festive season were likely to increase the demand in the coming months. There were some reaction in sugar industry stocks as Sugar industry body ISMA demanded that the government should allow exports of 80 lakh tonnes of sweetener in the 2022-23 marketing year starting October in view of surplus production. Insurance stocks also were in limelight as the finance ministry is contemplating changes in insurance laws, including reduction in minimum capital requirement, with a view to increasing the insurance penetration in the country.

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 321.99 points or 0.54% to 60,115.13 and the CNX Nifty was up by 103.00 points or 0.58% to 17,936.35.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 60,284.55 and 59,912.29, respectively. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.89%, while Small cap index was up by 1.00%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.23%, Basic Materials up by 1.70%, Consumer Durables up by 1.40%, IT up by 1.30% and TECK up by 1.16%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan Company up by 2.39%, Axis Bank up by 2.08%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.05%, Tata Steel up by 1.84% and Infosys up by 1.57%. On the flip side, HDFC down by 0.43%, HDFC Bank down by 0.40%, Nestle down by 0.33%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.30% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.30% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, reflecting an uptick in the economy, the Income Tax Department in its latest data has showed that direct tax collection, including personal income tax, rose by 35.46 per cent to Rs 6.48 lakh crore in the current fiscal up to September 8, 2022 over the gross collections for the corresponding period of last year. In the last fiscal ended March 31, 2022, India's direct tax collection rose by a record 49 per cent to Rs 14.10 lakh crore. The government has estimated to collect Rs 14.20 lakh crore from direct taxes this fiscal. This includes Rs 7.20 lakh crore from corporate taxes and Rs 7 lakh crore from individual taxpayers.

As per the data, direct tax collection, net of refunds, stands at Rs 5.29 lakh crore which is 30.17 per cent higher than the net collections for the corresponding period of last year. This collection is 37.24 per cent of the total Budget Estimates of Direct Taxes for 2022-23. It said refunds amounting to Rs 1.19 lakh crore have been issued from April 1 to September 8, 2022, which are 65.29 per cent higher than refunds issued during the same period in the preceding year.

So far as the growth rate for Corporate Income Tax (CIT) and Personal Income Tax (PIT) in terms of gross revenue collections is concerned, the growth rate for CIT is 25.95 per cent while that for PIT (including STT) is 44.37 per cent. After adjustment of refunds, the net growth in CIT collections is 32.73 per cent and that in PIT collections (including STT) is 28.32 per cent.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 17,980.55 and 17,889.15. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports &SEZ up by 3.77%, Titan Company up by 2.48%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.16%, Divi's Lab up by 2.11% and Axis Bank up by 1.96%. On the flip side, Coal India down by 2.53%, Shree Cement down by 1.53%, Nestle down by 0.85%, HDFC down by 0.51% and HDFC Bank down by 0.47%.

European markets were trading higher;  UK’s FTSE 100 increased 98.71 points or 1.34% to 7,449.78, France’s CAC increased 77.90 points or 1.25% to 6,290.23 and Germany’s DAX increased 213.21 points or 1.63% to 13,301.42.

Asian markets settled higher on Monday, tracking positive global sentiment ahead of inflation data from the United States due on Tuesday, which is expected that August numbers to come in at 8.1%. That would be down from 8.5% in July and a peak of 9.1% in June. But the markets are largely expecting the US Federal Reserve to hike interest rates by 75 basis points this month. Japanese shares rose, supported by expectations of a recovery in the tourism industry as the Japanese government moves to further ease Covid-19 entry restrictions for foreign travelers. Meanwhile, stock markets in China, Hong Kong and South Korea were closed for a holiday.