Benchmarks trade flat in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks erased initial gains and were trading flat in morning deals, as traders remained on sidelines ahead of key Q1 results. Traders also got anxious amid foreign fund outflows. According to the provisional data available on the NSE, foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth net Rs 701.17 crore on July 31. Traders also took a note of private business survey showed that growth in India’s manufacturing activity eased in July for a second month, with some moderation in output and new orders, although the pace of expansion remained healthy. The sector has remained resilient despite declines in manufacturing activity in other major producers, suggesting Asia’s third-largest economy is still on robust footing. The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, compiled by S&P Global, dipped to 57.7 last month from June’s 57.8. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green, boosted by market optimism set off by a Wall Street rally despite lingering worries about inflation and regional growth. Investors were also watching for the policy decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 66542.02, up by 14.35 points or 0.02% after trading in a range of 66528.16 and 66658.12. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.04%, while Small cap index was up by 0.57%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.71%, IT up by 0.57%, TECK up by 0.38%, Auto up by 0.37% and FMCG up by 0.16%, while Realty down by 1.64%, Power down by 0.21%, Capital Goods down by 0.20%, Industrials down by 0.02% and Utilities down by 0.02% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 2.47%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.73%, JSW Steel up by 0.76%, Tata Motors up by 0.58% and Sun Pharma up by 0.49%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation down by 4.76%, Bajaj Finserv down by 0.89%, Indusind Bank down by 0.69%, Larsen & Toubro down by 0.67% and Asian Paints down by 0.62% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) in its latest data has said that the Centre’s fiscal deficit at the end of the first quarter of current financial touched 25.3 per cent of the full-year target. In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit - the gap between expenditure and revenue - was Rs 4,51,370 crore as of end-June.

The deficit stood at 21.2 per cent of the Budget Estimates (BE) in the corresponding period of the financial year 2022-23.
In the Union Budget, the government projected to bring down the fiscal deficit to 5.9 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the current 2023-24 financial year. The deficit was 6.4 per cent of the GDP in 2022-23 against the earlier estimate of 6.71 per cent.

Unveiling the revenue-expenditure data of the Union government for the first three months of 2023-24, CGA said the net tax revenue was Rs 4,33,620 crore or 18.6 per cent of the BE for the current fiscal. The net tax revenue collection was 26.1 per cent at end-June 2022. The central government’s total expenditure in the first quarter stood at Rs 10.5 lakh crore or 23.3 per cent of BE. The expenditure had touched 24 per cent of the BE in the year-ago period.

Of the total expenditure, Rs 7.72 lakh crore was on the revenue account and Rs 2.78 lakh crore was towards the capital account. Of the total revenue expenditure, Rs 2,43,705 crore was on interest payments and Rs 87,035 crore on major subsidies.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 19754.30, up by 0.50 points after trading in a range of 19750.30 and 19795.60. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 2.59%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.72%, Coal India up by 1.61%, Eicher Motors up by 1.17% and Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 0.98%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation down by 4.79%, Apollo Hospital down by 2.06%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.28%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.13% and Adani Ports &SEZ down by 1.02% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 37.57 points or 0.22% to 17,183.00, Shanghai Composite strengthened 3.94 points or 0.12% to 3,294.98, KOSPI increased 27.12 points or 1.03% to 2,659.70 and Nikkei 225 surged 268.29 points or 0.81% to 33,440.51.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite plunged 32.91 points or 0.47% to 6,898.45, Straits Times fell 4.71 points or 0.14% to 3,369.27 and Hang Seng declined 1.22 points or 0.01% to 20,077.72.