Markets extend opening gains to trade in fine-fettle; Manufacturing PMI eyed

Indian equity benchmarks made a slightly positive start on Friday and soon extended their opening gains to trade in fine-fettle in early deals tracking firm trade in Asian counterparts. Investors also remained optimistic ahead of the release of the final HSBC Manufacturing PMI data for December later in the day. Some support came as the government data showed that gross GST collections rose 6.1 per cent to over Rs 1.74 lakh crore in December 2025, on slow growth in revenues from domestic sales following the sweeping tax cuts. Market participants overlooked foreign fund outflows, as Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offload equities worth Rs 3,268.60 crore on Thursday.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher in thin trade after ending 2025 on a subdued note. Investors wait to see whether the next Federal Reserve chief would opt for deeper interest-rate cuts. Markets in Japan and China remained closed. Back home, ITC remained top loser after the government announced a fresh tax on cigarettes.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 85547.34, up by 358.74 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 85068.88 and 85565.62. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.36%, while Small cap index was up by 0.25%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.88%, PSU up by 0.78%, Auto up by 0.71%, Energy up by 0.65% and Telecom up by 0.62%, while FMCG down by 1.10% was the sole losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 1.48%, Bharat Electronics up by 1.28%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.09%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.90% and HDFC Bank up by 0.81%. On the flip side, ITC down by 3.90%, Titan Company down by 0.91%, HCL Technologies down by 0.24%, Trent down by 0.09% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.00% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government data has showed that Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection increased by 6.1% to Rs 1,74,550 crore in December 2025 as compared to Rs 1,64,556 crore collected in December 2024. Of the total gross GST revenue, CGST was Rs 34,289 crore, SGST was Rs 41,368 crore and IGST was Rs 98,894 crore.

The growth in gross revenue from domestic transactions was slow at 1.2% to Rs 1,22,574 crore in the reporting month over Rs 1,21,118 crore in the corresponding month last year. Revenues from imported goods were up 19.7% at Rs 51,977 crore during December, 2025, as compared to Rs 43,438 crore in December 2024.

Further, refunds were up 30.9% to Rs 28,980 crore in December 2025 over Rs 22,138 crore in the corresponding month last year. Net GST revenues (after adjusting refunds) stood at over Rs 1,45,570 crore, up 2.2% year-on-year. 

Meanwhile, effective September 22, 2025, GST rates on about 375 items were slashed, making goods cheaper. Also, a compensation cess levy is levied only on tobacco and related products, as against luxury, sin and demerit goods earlier. The lowering of GST rates has impacted revenue collections.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 26253.80, up by 107.25 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 26118.40 and 26257.40. There were 42 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 1.63%, Asian Paints up by 1.58%, Coal India up by 1.37%, Bharat Electronics up by 1.31% and JIO Financial Services up by 1.27%. On the flip side, ITC down by 4.00%, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 1.12%, Titan Company down by 0.90%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.64% and Apollo Hospital down by 0.34% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading in green; Hang Seng jumped 591.46 points or 2.26% to 26,222.00, Taiwan Weighted surged 317.49 points or 1.1% to 29,281.09, KOSPI rose 64.03 points or 1.52% to 4,278.20, Jakarta Composite gained 55.04 points or 0.64% to 8,701.98 and Straits Times was up by 18.65 points or 0.4% to 4,664.86.