Sensex, Nifty hold heads above water in early noon

Indian equity benchmarks were holding their heads above water in early afternoon deals, aided by positive cues from other Asian markets. Traders were getting some relief, amid reports that foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have pumped Rs 153,539 crore in India so far in 2023-24 as Indian equity markets continue to attract FPIs. Besides, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said efficiency in income tax administration has helped increase revenues and check evasion, as she called upon tax officers to introspect on people's perception about them.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, after South Korea's gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent on quarter in the second quarter of 2023. That exceeded expectations for an increase of 0.5 percent and was up from 0.3 percent in the previous three months. On the expenditure side, private consumption fell by 0.1 percent, as expenditure on services such as restaurants and accommodations declined while expenditure on goods maintained the previous quarter's level.

Back home, on the sectoral front, mining sector stocks were in watch, as the index of mineral production of mining and quarrying sector for the month of May, 2023 (Base: 2011-12=100) at 128.1, is 6.4% higher as compared to the level during May, 2022. As per the provisional figures of Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), the cumulative growth for the period April- May, 2022-23 over the corresponding period of the previous year   is 5.8% per cent.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 66407.02, up by 22.24 points or 0.03% after trading in a range of 66276.93 and 66559.29. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.19%, while Small cap index was up by 0.40%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.29%, Utilities up by 2.12%, Power up by 1.58%, Auto up by 0.95% and Consumer Durables up by 0.64%, while FMCG down by 1.29%, Bankex down by 0.38% and Capital Goods down by 0.28% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 3.16%, JSW Steel up by 2.92%, NTPC up by 2.73%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.13% and Tata Motors up by 1.79%. On the flip side, ITC down by 3.11%, Asian Paints down by 2.03%, Axis Bank down by 1.39%, SBI down by 1.30% and Larsen & Toubro down by 1.08% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, underlining the various reforms brought in by the Union Government in the Finance Act 2023 to provide relief to salaried class, start-ups, MSME and cooperative societies, Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman has stressed upon the necessity to work on widening the tax base while making the tax administration transparent, objective and taxpayer friendly.

Sitharaman further noted that systemic changes in the Direct tax administration like prefilling of forms, instant PAN, faceless assessment have boosted the taxpayer’s trust and made compliance easy, leading to growth in revenue.  The Finance Minister also called upon the officers/officials of the income tax department to work in this Kartavya Kaal towards achieving the goal of making India a developed country by the year 2047.

Besides, Finance Minister expressed appreciation for the outstanding performance of the CBDT and its field formation in every sphere of work. The Minister also appreciated the Department’s continued efforts in implementing the 3 ‘R’s viz. Return processing, Refund issue and Redressal of grievances emphasised by her earlier.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19685.75, up by 13.40 points or 0.07% after trading in a range of 19648.30 and 19729.35. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Steel up by 3.16%, JSW Steel up by 2.86%, NTPC up by 2.65%, Hindalco up by 2.46% and Ultratech Cement up by 2.13%. On the flip side, ITC down by 3.13%, Asian Paints down by 1.97%, Britannia Industries down by 1.70%, Axis Bank down by 1.42% and SBI down by 1.28% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 695.11 points or 3.59% to 19,363.26, Taiwan Weighted added 165.28 points or 0.96% to 17,198.89, Shanghai Composite strengthened 63.81 points or 1.98% to 3,227.97, Jakarta Composite gained 22.36 points or 0.32% to 6,921.76, Straits Times rose 13.42 points or 0.41% to 3,278.56 and KOSPI increased 7.93 points or 0.3% to 2,636.46, while Nikkei 225 slipped 18.43 points or 0.06% to 32,682.51.