Markets trade higher in early deals; FMCG index leads gainers

Indian equity benchmarks made cautious start on Monday but soon gained momentum. Markets are trading higher in early deals on account of buying in FMCG, Metal and Telecom stocks. Foreign fund inflows aided the domestic sentiments. Foreign investors continued their positive momentum and have injected a net Rs 10,555 crore in Indian equities so far in December amid stabilisation in oil prices and moderating US inflation. Sentiments also got boost as the gross direct tax collections have grown 26 per cent to over Rs 13.63 lakh crore so far this fiscal, aided by TDS deductions and healthy corporate advance tax mop-up. Adding more optimism, data released by the Reserve Bank showed that India’s forex reserves rose by $2.908 billion to $564.06 billion for the week ended on December 9. Though, upside remained capped amid weak global cues. Also, broader indices -- BSE Mid & Small cap indices were underperforming larger peers.

On the global front, most of the Asian markets are trading lower following the broadly negative cues from global markets on Friday, as ongoing concerns about rising interest rates and fears of a global economic recession continued to weigh on sentiment. Back home, oil & gas industry stocks were in focus as data of the commerce ministry showed that the country's imports of Crude oil rose by 52.58 per cent to $146.57 billion during April-November period this fiscal. In stock specific development, Ashoka Buildcon gained after subsidiaries sold stake in Jaora Nayagaon Toll Road to NIIF.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 61453.51, up by 115.70 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 61265.31 and 61520.20. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.34%, while Small cap index was down by 0.02%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 1.08%, Metal up by 0.62%, Telecom up by 0.44%, Auto up by 0.24%, Energy up by 0.15%, while IT down by 0.59%, Capital Goods down by 0.39%, Healthcare down by 0.33%, TECK down by 0.30%, Industrials down by 0.24% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 2.06%, ITC up by 1.81%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.76%, Nestle up by 1.61% and Bajaj Finserv up by 0.98%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.20%, Sun Pharma down by 1.02%, Tata Motors down by 0.77%, HDFC Bank down by 0.56% and Larsen & Toubro down by 0.42% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has said that the gross direct tax collections have grown 26 per cent to over Rs 13.63 lakh crore so far this fiscal, aided by TDS deductions and healthy corporate advance tax mop-up. After adjusting for refunds, the net direct tax collection so far this fiscal stands at Rs 11.35 lakh crore, which is about 80 per cent of the full-year gross Budget target. Refunds worth about Rs 2.28 lakh crore have been issued till December 17, 2022, a growth of 68 per cent over the year-ago period.

The gross collection of Rs 13,63,649 crore includes Corporation Tax (CIT) at Rs 7.25 lakh crore and Personal Income Tax (PIT) including Securities Transaction Tax (STT) at Rs 6.35 lakh crore. The robust tax mop-up shows the economy rebounded from pandemic lows with rise in earnings of both companies and individuals. The mop-up includes advance tax collection of Rs 5.21 lakh crore, Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) of Rs 6.44 lakh crore, and self-assessment tax of Rs 1.40 lakh crore.

As per the CBDT, so far this fiscal, the net collections from income and corporate taxes are at Rs 11.35 lakh crore, 19.81 per cent higher than the Rs 9,47,959 crore collected in the corresponding period of the preceding financial year (2021-22). This includes Rs 6.06 lakh crore and Rs 5.26 lakh crore of CIT and PIT collections, respectively. The CBDT further said there has been a remarkable increase in the speed of processing of income tax returns filed during the current fiscal, with almost 96.5 per cent of the duly verified ITRs having been processed till December 17.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18295.40, up by 26.40 points or 0.14% after trading in a range of 18244.55 and 18322.15. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid up by 2.11%, ITC up by 1.76%, Nestle up by 1.59%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.50% and Bajaj Auto up by 0.94%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.22%, ONGC down by 1.05%, Sun Pharma down by 1.04%, Tata Motors down by 0.94% and BPCL down by 0.80% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 weakened 317.68 points or 1.15% to 27,209.44, Hang Seng slipped 87.45 points or 0.45% to 19,363.22, Taiwan Weighted lost 80.32 points or 0.55% to 14,448.23, KOSPI declined 2,347.88, Jakarta Composite fell 26.22 points or 0.38% to 6,785.97 and Shanghai Composite was down by 41.45 points or 1.31% to 3,126.41, while Straits Times was up by 14.37 points or 0.44% to 3,255.18.