Benchmarks end higher; CPI data eyed

Indian equity benchmarks traded with a positive bias throughout the day and ended higher by over half percent each on Monday driven by gains in Realty, banking and IT stocks. After an initial uptick in the morning trade, the indices remained rangebound for the rest of the day as investors look forward to earnings reports from Reliance Industries and HCL Technologies, marking the start of a results-packed week. Additionally, India’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for September is in focus for indications of a potential interest rate cut. Traders took support as the Income-Tax (I-T) Department’s latest data showed that India’s net direct tax collection, after adjusting for refunds, grew 18.35 per cent to Rs 11.3 trillion between April 1 and October 10 of FY25. In the same period last year, tax collection stood at Rs 9.51 trillion. Some support also came with Secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Amardeep Singh Bhatia, stating that the government is targeting to provide access to the PM GatiShakti national master plan (NMP) portal to the private sector this year, and discussions are underway for details. He said there are some layers of data, which are sensitive in nature on the NMP and those should not be exposed.   

However, further gains got restricted as some concern came with report that India’s wholesale inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) increased to 1.84% in September 2024 from a four-month low of 1.31% it had hit in the previous month due to increase in prices of food articles, food products, other manufacturing, manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers & semi-trailers, manufacture of machinery & equipment, etc.  Traders also remained cautious as the government data showed that India’s industrial production turned negative as it contracted by 0.1 per cent in August, mainly due to a decline in the mining and power generation sectors’ output, in addition to an almost flat expansion in the manufacturing sector. Besides, exchange data showed Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,162.66 crore on Friday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 3,730.87 crore. 

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in red after data showed China's exports and imports grew far less than expected in September. A much-anticipated Chinese stimulus announcement over the weekend also failed to inspire confidence among investors.  Asian markets settled mostly higher on Monday following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street, as traders react to the report showing producer prices in the U.S. were unexpectedly unchanged in September, reinforcing optimism the US Fed will continue lowering interest rates in the coming months, although hopes for another 50-basis point cut next month largely evaporated. 

Back home, on the sectoral front, Auto stocks were in focus as the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said passenger vehicle wholesales India witnessed declined 1 per cent year-on-year to 3,56,752 units in September. The total dispatches to dealers from companies stood at 3,61,717 units in September 2023. Insurance industry stocks were in watch as data released by the Life Insurance Council showed that life insurance companies reported a 14 per cent year-on-year growth in new business premiums for September, totaling Rs 35,020 crore. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 591.69 points or 0.73% to 81,973.05, and the CNX Nifty was up by 163.70 points or 0.66% to 25,127.95.      

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 82,072.17 and 81,541.20 respectively. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index. 

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.28%, while Small cap index was up by 0.06%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.53%, Bankex up by 1.03%, IT up by 1.01%, TECK up by 0.88% and Consumer Durables up by 0.69%, while Basic Materials down by 0.31%, Metal down by 0.14% and Oil & Gas down by 0.06% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 2.86%, HDFC Bank up by 2.32%, Larsen & Toubro up by 2.02%, ITC up by 1.72% and Indusind Bank up by 1.70%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.85%, Tata Steel down by 1.49%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.23%, Axis Bank down by 0.68% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.67% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the data from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has showed that India’s net direct tax collection for the financial year 2024-25 has seen a significant surge, with an increase of 18.35 per cent to almost Rs 11.26 lakh crore year on year, as of October 10. Further, it showed the gross collection of direct tax grew 22.30 per cent to Rs 13.57 lakh crore year on year, as of October 10. The refund amounting to Rs 2.31 lakh crore released during the period. The refund amount saw a growth of 46 per cent.

The data indicated that the key contributor in the collections is a major uptick in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT), which almost doubled to Rs 30,630 crore from Rs 16,373 crore in 2023 during this period. The collections STT indicates the increased investor exposure in the equity markets. Securities Transaction Tax is a tax payable in India on the value of securities transacted through a recognized stock exchange.

Besides, it stated that tax collections from the corporate tax increased significantly reaching at 6.11 crore, in the FY 2024-25 compared to last years’ Rs 5.11 crore, as of October 10. As per the data, gross personal income tax collections rose to Rs 7.13 lakh crore from Rs 5.79 lakh crore, while the net collection stood at 5.98 lakh crore.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 25,159.75 and 25,017.50. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Wipro up by 4.24%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.88%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.40%, HDFC Bank up by 2.30% and Larsen & Toubro up by 2.02%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 2.05%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.77%, Tata Steel down by 1.48%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.26% and Adani Enterprises down by 1.22% were the top losers. 

European markets were trading mostly in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 3.34 points or 0.04% to 8,250.31 and France’s CAC fell 22.94 points or 0.3% to 7,554.95, while Germany’s DAX gained 41.43 points or 0.21% to 19,415.26.