Benchmarks trade flat in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks erased initial gains and were trading flat in morning deals, amid weakness in Asian markets. Traders took a note of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey’s statement that the central government and Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) are estimated to monetise assets worth Rs 1.50 trillion in the current fiscal (FY24), a tad lower than the targeted of Rs 1.75 trillion. Traders overlooked CRISIL’s latest report that the Indian economy is expected to grow at an average rate of 6.7% per annum until the end of the decade. The economy will grow at this rate between the financial years 2024 to 2031, a notch above the pre-pandemic average of 6.6%. According to CRISIL, the key contributor to this trend will be capital. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red after a robust U.S. jobs report dashed any expectations of a near-term interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve, while stocks in China stocks remained on the back foot on weak sentiment.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 72029.74, down by 55.89 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 71972.77 and 72385.93. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.88%, while Small cap index was up by 0.34%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Oil & Gas up by 2.61%, Energy up by 2.00%, PSU up by 1.80%, Utilities up by 1.71% and Auto up by 1.63%, while Telecom down by 0.47%, Bankex down by 0.38%, Consumer Durables down by 0.32%, TECK down by 0.21% and FMCG down by 0.18% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 6.70%, Power Grid Corporation up by 2.33%, Sun Pharma Industries up by 2.30%, NTPC up by 1.46% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.29%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.31%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.21%, HDFC Bank down by 0.83%, ICICI Bank down by 0.81% and HCL Technologies down by 0.70% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the finance ministry has said that GST intelligence officers have detected fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) cases worth Rs 18,000 crore from April to December in the current fiscal (FY24) and arrested 98 people.  In the current financial year, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has laid special emphasis to identify and apprehend the masterminds of fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) and disrupting syndicates, operating across the country.

The ministry stated ‘In the current financial year (up to December 2023), 1,700 fake ITC cases involving Rs 18,000 crore have been detected and 98 fraudsters/masterminds have been apprehended.’ DGGI has unravelled cases using data analysis aided by advanced technical tools, leading to the arrest of tax evaders.

These tax syndicates often use gullible persons and enticed them with jobs/commission/bank loan, etc, to extract their Know Your Customers (KYC) documents, which were then used to create fake/shell firms/companies without their knowledge and consent. It added, in some cases, KYC method was used with the knowledge of the person concerned by paying them small pecuniary benefits.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 21870.50, up by 16.70 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 21833.40 and 21964.30. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 6.73%, BPCL up by 4.33%, Coal India up by 3.37%, ONGC up by 2.53% and Cipla up by 2.50%. On the flip side, UPL down by 7.38%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.40%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.24%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.98% and HDFC Bank down by 0.81% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Hang Seng declined 23.14 points or 0.15% to 15,510.42, Straits Times fell 52.88 points or 1.66% to 3,126.89, KOSPI dropped 22.67 points or 0.87% to 2,592.64, Jakarta Composite plunged 18.59 points or 0.26% to 7,220.20 and Shanghai Composite weakened 49.68 points or 1.85% to 2,680.47.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 213.75 points or 0.59% to 36,371.77 and Taiwan Weighted added 27.47 points or 0.15% to 18,087.40.