Benchmarks continue to trade marginally in red in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade marginally in red in morning deals, owing to selling pressure in IT, TECK and Auto shares. Traders remained cautious with provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showing that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 33.51 crore on December 18. However, losses were limited as traders took some support with report that domestic rating agency Icra revised its FY24 GDP growth forecast to 6.5 per cent from 6.2 per cent earlier. It said the revision is being done because Icra feels the deflation in commodity prices will be sustained and there are expectation of better growth in the October-December period than previous estimates. Meanwhile, India and UK have wrapped up the 13th round of negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement after four months of in-person and virtual meetings and the next round will be held in January. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mixed as the global rally fueled by hopes of U.S. interest rate cuts showed signs of slowing down, with more Federal Reserve officials pushing back against expectations. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 71230.74, down by 84.35 points or 0.12% after trading in a range of 71071.98 and 71569.20. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.47%, while Small cap index was up by 0.10%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 0.83%, Energy up by 0.51%, Oil & Gas up by 0.14%, Consumer Durables up by 0.11% and Industrials up by 0.04%, while IT down by 1.15%, TECK down by 1.04%, Auto down by 0.62%, Basic Materials down by 0.55% and Power down by 0.46% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Nestle up by 2.81%, ITC up by 1.08%, Axis Bank up by 1.06%, Reliance Industries up by 0.67% and Larsen & Toubro up by 0.61%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 1.80%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.43%, HCL Technologies down by 1.32%, TCS down by 1.32% and Infosys down by 1.08% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has said net direct tax collections grew by 20.66 per cent to over Rs 13.70 lakh crore (provisional) in the current fiscal so far as compared to Rs 11,35,754 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding Financial Year.  

The net direct tax collection of Rs 13,70,388 crore (as of December 17, 2023 ) includes Corporation Tax (CIT) at Rs 6.95 lakh crore and Personal Income Tax (PIT), including Securities Transaction Tax at Rs 6.73 lakh crore. Refunds of over Rs 2.25 lakh crore have also been issued in the FY 2023-24 till December 17, 2023. He further said the gross collection of over Rs 15.95 lakh crore includes CIT at Rs 7.90 lakh crore and PIT at about Rs 8.03 lakh crore.

The net direct tax collections have touched 75 per cent of budget estimates of direct tax mop-up in the current fiscal. In the current fiscal, Rs 18.23 lakh crore is expected to be collected in direct taxes which includes personal income tax and corporate tax.  

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21385.70, down by 32.95 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 21337.75 and 21480.00. There were 18 stocks advancing against 32 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Nestle up by 3.16%, Tata Consumer Product up by 2.23%, Coal India up by 1.40%, Axis Bank up by 1.17% and ITC up by 1.10%. On the flip side, Wipro down by 1.91%, Adani Ports &SEZ down by 1.79%, Hero MotoCorp down by 1.66%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.50% and HCL Technologies down by 1.45% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted lost 116.45 points or 0.66% to 17,535.58, Hang Seng declined 101.48 points or 0.61% to 16,527.75, KOSPI dropped 2.64 points or 0.1% to 2,564.22 and Shanghai Composite weakened 0.62 points or 0.02% to 2,930.18. 

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 342.56 points or 1.05% to 33,101.54, Straits Times rose 10.53 points or 0.34% to 3,123.76 and Jakarta Composite gained 14.15 points or 0.2% to 7,133.68.