Domestic indices erase gains in late morning deals

Domestic equity indices erased all of their gains and were trading marginally in red in late morning deals amid mixed cues from other Asian markets. Traders were cautious following Silicon Valley Bank crisis. Traders remain concerned with a private report that India’s retail inflation probably breached the central bank’s target for a second straight month in February, prompting the monetary authority to possibly hike borrowing costs to the highest level in seven years. India’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) data is to be out later in the day. Weakness also prevailed in the markets as foreign institutional investors (FII) net sold shares worth Rs 2,061.47 crore on March 10, according to the provisional data available on the NSE. On the sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position in Utilities, Power, Metal and Oil & Gas, while selling was witnessed in Auto, Telecom, Industrials, Capital Goods and TECK.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed following the broadly negative cues from US markets on Friday. Back home, in the stock specific developments, Tech Mahindra surged after it announced appointment of Mohit Joshi as Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company. However, Sona BLW Precision Forgings (Sona Comstar) slipped after over 20 per cent of the total equity of the company changed hands via a block deal.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 59040.43, down by 94.70 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 59011.36 and 59510.92. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.79%, while Small cap index down by 1.13%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 0.95%, Power up by 0.77%, Metal up by 0.19% and Oil & Gas up by 0.11%, while Auto down by 0.91%, Telecom down by 0.88%, Industrials down by 0.72%, Capital Goods down by 0.52% and TECK down by 0.52% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 7.83%, Power Grid up by 0.95%, ICICI Bank up by 0.85%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.38% and Asian Paints up by 0.33%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 6.18%, Infosys down by 1.37%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.30%, Tata Motors down by 1.08% and HCL down by 0.91% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has said that net direct tax collection so far this fiscal grew 17 per cent to reach Rs 13.73 lakh crore, which is 83 per cent of the revised target for the full financial year. The growth in direct tax mop-up, which comprises personal income tax and corporate taxes, was driven by PIT (Personal Income Tax) collections. On a gross basis, the collection grew 22.58 per cent to Rs 16.68 lakh crore.

Refunds amounting to Rs 2.95 lakh crore have been issued during April 1, 2022 to March 10, 2023, which are 59.44 per cent higher than refunds issued during the same period in the preceding year. Direct tax collection, net of refunds, stands at Rs 13.73 lakh crore which is 16.78 per cent higher than the net collections for the corresponding period of last year.

This collection is 96.67 per cent of the total budget estimates and 83.19 per cent of the total revised estimates of direct taxes for the financial year 2022-23. After adjustment of refunds, the net growth in CIT (Corporate Income Tax) collections is 13.62 per cent and that in Personal Income Tax collections including STT (Securities Transaction Tax) is 20.06 per cent.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17389.65, down by 23.25 points or 0.13% after trading in a range of 17377.20 and 17529.90. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 7.79%, JSW Steel up by 1.07%, Power Grid up by 0.86%, Adani Enterprises up by 0.82% and ICICI Bank up by 0.81%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 6.25%, Infosys down by 1.53%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.39%, Adani Ports down by 1.25% and Tata Motors down by 1.16% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted added 32.49 points or 0.21% to 15,558.69, Hang Seng advanced 374.16 points or 1.9% to 19,694.08, Shanghai Composite strengthened 24.28 points or 0.75% to 3,254.36, KOSPI increased 14.4 points or 0.6% to 2,408.99. However, Jakarta Composite plunged 3.08 points or 0.05% to 6,762.22, Straits Times fell 26.67 points or 0.85% to 3,150.76 and Nikkei 225 slipped 338.29 points or 1.22% to 27,805.68.