Markets off day’s high in early afternoon deals

Indian equity benchmarks trimmed some of their gains to come off their day’s high points in early afternoon deals, though remained in green terrain on the back of positive cues from other Asian markets. Sentiments were upbeat as the Finance Ministry said that the GST collections up 16.6 per cent to Rs 1.52 lakh crore in October. The revenue for October 2022 is second highest monthly collection, next only to the collection in April 2022 and it is for the second time the gross GST collection has crossed Rs 1.50 lakh crore mark.

Adding some comfort, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in its latest data showed that investment in the Indian capital markets through participatory notes (P-notes) rose to Rs 87,813 crore at the end of September, making it the second consecutive monthly increase, as the country witnesses the best growth and earnings among emerging markets. However, gains got trimmed, as the government data released showed that retail inflation for industrial workers rose to 6.49 per cent in September from 5.85 per cent in August 2022 mainly due to higher prices of certain food items.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, even after the manufacturing sector in Taiwan continued to contract in October, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Tuesday with a 13-year low manufacturing PMI score of 41.5. That's down from 42.2 in September, and it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61094.90, up by 348.31 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 60998.86 and 61289.73. 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 by 0.71%, while Small cap index was up by 0.24%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.36%, Healthcare up by 1.33%, TECK up by 1.28%, Power up by 1.21% and PSU up by 1.15%, while Energy down by 0.26%, Auto down by 0.09% and Oil & Gas down by 0.05% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 4.27%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 2.39%, Power Grid up by 2.10%, TCS up by 1.94% and HDFC Bank up by 1.87%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 3.47%, Reliance Industries down by 1.05%, Tata Steel down by 0.84%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.64% and Titan Co down by 0.24% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Indian manufacturing activity surged in the month of October, on the back of expansions in factory orders and quantities of purchases, while production growth outpaced its long-run average despite softening to a four-month low. At the same time, cost burdens rose at a broadly similar rate to September's 23-month low, while selling charge inflation moderated to the weakest since February.

According to the report, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) increased to 55.3 in October from 55.1 in September, above its long-run average (53.7) and indicating a stronger improvement in the health of the sector. The upward movement in the headline figure largely reflected stronger increases in employment and stocks of purchases.

The report further noted that firms were again able to secure additional work in October, taking the current sequence of growth to 16 months. Overall, factory orders increased at an above-trend pace that was nonetheless the weakest since June. New export orders also rose markedly, with the pace of expansion ticking higher. Indian manufacturing companies bought additional inputs in October amid efforts to rebuild stocks and fulfil greater sales. Overall, input buying rose solidly, but at the slowest pace in 14 months.

Meanwhile, Indian manufacturers remained confident of a rise in production volumes by October 2023. Predictions of better sales and marketing efforts were among the reasons cited for upbeat projections. The overall level of sentiment fell to a three-month low, though remained elevated by historical standards.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18126.05, up by 113.85 points or 0.63% after trading in a range of 18084.90 and 18175.80. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Divi's Lab up by 4.94%, NTPC up by 4.33%, Adani Enterprises up by 2.53%, Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 2.37% and Grasim Industries up by 2.19%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 3.48%, Eicher Motors down by 1.88%, Reliance Industries down by 1.07%, UPL down by 0.82% and Tata Steel down by 0.74% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 91.46 points or 0.33% to 27,678.92,  Hang Seng increased 796.41 points or 5.42% to 15,483.43, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 87.46 points or 0.68% to 13,037.21, KOSPI rose 41.61 points or 1.81% to 2,335.22, Shanghai Composite gained 62.08 points or 2.15% to 2,955.56 and Straits Times advanced 33.84 points or 1.09% to 3,126.95. On the flip side, Jakarta Composite lost 65.81 points or 0.93% to 7,033.08.