Benchmarks end higher for 2nd straight day

Indian equity benchmarks witnessed a second straight day of gains on Monday, amid buying in blue-chip stocks Ultratech Cement, JSW Steel and Adani Ports & SEZ. Markets opened on a flat note and traded with volatility in first half of trading session amid disappointing macroeconomic data. India’s economic growth slowed to a near two-year low of 5.4 percent in the July-September quarter of this fiscal due to poor performance of manufacturing and mining sectors as well as weak consumption.  Traders were cautious as Crisil expects GDP growth to slow to 6.8% this financial year 2024-25. It said the growth is weighed down by high interest rates and low fiscal impulse. Some pessimism also came in as a business survey found that India's factory growth cooled in November yet maintained a strong pace, leading to significantly improved optimism despite demand easing a bit due to higher price pressures. The HSBC final India manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by S&P Global, fell to 56.5 last month from 57.5 in October. A preliminary estimate was far higher at 57.3.

However, key gauges gained traction in second half of trading session and settled with gains of over half percent each, taking support from the government data showing that foreign direct investment in India rose by 45% year-on-year to $29.79 billion in April-September this fiscal on healthy inflows in services, computer, telecom and pharma sectors. Some solace also came as the government data showed that the total gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue grew 8.5% to over Rs 1.82 lakh crore in November as compared to Rs 1.68 lakh crore in the same month a year ago. Some optimism came as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed that India services exports rose for the second month in a row, increasing 22.3% in October to $34.3 billion. 

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in red after a survey showed Eurozone manufacturing PMI hit a two-month low of 45.2 in November. Sentiment was also dented by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's threat of 100 percent tariff on BRICS countries if they pursue new currency alternatives to the U.S. dollar. Asian markets settled mostly higher on Monday after the release of robust Chinese factory activity data. 

Back home, banking stocks were in focus as the RBI data showed that banks' credit to industry grew by 8% in October 2024 compared to 4.8% in the year-ago period. The Reserve Bank data also showed that credit to agriculture and allied activities registered a growth of 15.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) in October 2024, compared to 17.4% seen in the same month of last year. There were some reaction in coal industry stocks as India’s overall coal production reached 90.62 million tonnes (MT) (Provisional) in November this year, compared to 84.52 MT in the same month last year, marking a 7.20 per cent growth.  

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 445.29 points or 0.56% to 80,248.08, and the CNX Nifty was up by 144.95 points or 0.60% to 24,276.05.      

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 80,337.82 and 79,308.95 respectively. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.05%, while Small cap index was up by 0.84%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 3.16%, Consumer Durables up by 2.26%, Basic Materials up by 1.59%, Metal up by 1.28% and Healthcare up by 1.21%, while Utilities down by 0.43%, PSU down by 0.14%, FMCG down by 0.07% and Bankex down by 0.02% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 3.93%, JSW Steel up by 2.47%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 2.18%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.81% and Titan Company up by 1.73%. On the flip side, NTPC down by 1.55%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.70%, Hindustan Unilever down by 0.69%, Indusind Bank down by 0.60% and Power Grid Corporation down by 0.49% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the government in its latest data has said that the total gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue grew 8.5 per cent to over Rs 1.82 lakh crore in November compared to Rs 1.68 lakh crore in the same month a year ago on account of increased sales spurred by the festive season. The Central GST collection stood at Rs 34,141 crore, State GST at Rs 43,047 crore, Integrated IGST (Rs 91,828 crore) and cess (Rs 13,253 crore).

During the month under review, GST from domestic transactions grew 9.4 per cent to Rs 1.40 lakh crore, while revenues from tax on imports rose about 6 per cent to Rs 42,591 crore. Refunds worth Rs 19,259 crore were issued during November, registering an 8.9 per cent decline over the year-ago period. After adjusting refunds, net GST collection increased by 11 per cent to Rs 1.63 lakh crore.

The net GST collection stood at Rs 12.90 lakh crore during the current fiscal so far against Rs 11.81 lakh crore collected during the April-November period last year. In October, the GST collection of Rs 1.87 lakh crore was the second-best GST mop-up with 9 per cent annual growth. The highest-ever collection was in April 2024 at over Rs 2.10 lakh crore.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 24,301.70 and 24,008.65. There were 31 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index. 

The top gainers on Nifty were Ultratech Cement up by 3.82%, Apollo Hospital up by 3.45%, Grasim Industries up by 3.06%, Shriram Finance up by 2.56% and JSW Steel up by 2.53%. On the flip side, HDFC Life Insurance down by 2.67%, NTPC down by 1.46%, Cipla down by 1.36%, SBI Life Insurance down by 1.09% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.69% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in red; France’s CAC fell 36.18 points or 0.5% to 7,198.93 and UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 0.39 points or 0% to 8,286.91, while Germany’s DAX gained 100.47 points or 0.51% to 19,726.92. 

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Monday tracking a record monthly closing on Wall Street, and after the release of robust Chinese factory activity data. A private survey showed that the manufacturing sector in China expanded at a faster pace in November, with the corresponding PMI rising to 51.5 from 50.3 in October. Japanese shares gained by banks and technology shares, while a weakening yen has also supported sentiments. However, some gains were limited by US-China trade war fears after US President-elect Donald Trump threatened a 100% tariff on the so-called 'BRICS' nations if they replace the US dollar with another currency for international transactions.