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EQUITY
Post Session: Quick Review
Oct-23-2018

Indian equity benchmarks ended in red for the fourth-straight session, tracking weakness in global markets and sell-off in index heavyweights. The indices traded on feeble note since the beginning, as traders remain concerned about a private report stating that India is the second-most underinsured country in the world with an insurance gap of $27 billion (approximately Rs 1.98 lakh crore). Traders reacted negatively to another private report that the crude oil import bill for India is expected to increase by $37 billion to $125 billion during the current financial year (2018-19, or FY19) - a 42% spike over the 2017-18 (FY18) bill of $88 billion. The sentiments remained in lackadaisical mood with a private report stating that the government doesn’t have centralised information as yet on prosecutions launched against persons identified for suspicious cash deposits. Responding to an RTI filing by FE, the I-T department, however, said 11.8 lakh of the 23.5 lakh persons identified for suspicious post-demonetisation deposits and sent notices to by it on the e-filing portal replied to the queries raised.

However, the markets managed to trim their initial losses in dying hour of trade as traders found some solace with report that the net direct tax collection in the country grew by 15.7% on year-on-year basis to reach Rs 4.89 lakh crore in the current fiscal till third week of October. This marks over 42% of the full-year direct tax collection target of Rs 11.5 lakh crore for the fiscal ending March 31, 2019. Some comfort also came with report that the Union government may take up the issue of relaxing minimum capital requirement norms for lenders in a bid to free up additional money and provide liquidity to the banking system in the board meeting of the RBI.

On the global front, Asian markets ended lower on Tuesday, while European markets were trading in red, as diplomatic tensions in Saudi Arabia, concerns over Italy's Budget and ongoing Brexit talks all depressed market sentiment. Back home, sugar sector stocks were in sweet spot with report that a second bailout package for sugar industry could be in the offing as the food ministry plans to float a Cabinet note seeking loan incentives for ethanol producers. This will be in addition to the sugar package announced in June. Shipping sector remained in focus with the Union minister Nitin Gadkari asking domestic investors to pump their money into the various programmes undertaken by his ministry and promised them every support to improve waterway connectivity.

The BSE Sensex ended at 33925.93, down by 208.45 points or 0.61% after trading in a range of 33742.75 and 34073.92. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.74%, while Small cap index was down by 1.10%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 0.56%, Power up by 0.45%, Utilities up by 0.23%, PSU up by 0.11% and Consumer Durables up by 0.08%, while IT down by 2.67%, TECK down by 2.36%, Healthcare down by 2.21%, Basic Materials down by 1.70% and FMCG down by 1.24% were the losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 2.38%, Tata Motors - DVR up by 2.10%, HDFC up by 2.10%, Yes Bank up by 1.78% and Power Grid up by 1.53%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 5.02%, Sun Pharma down by 4.89%, Wipro down by 3.93%, TCS down by 3.11% and Infosys down by 2.86% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the policy-making body for the Income Tax Department (ITD), in its latest data showed that the net direct tax collection in India grew by 15.7 percent on year-on-year basis to reach Rs 4.89 lakh crore in the current fiscal till third week of October. This marks over 42% of the full-year direct tax collection target of Rs 11.5 lakh crore for the fiscal ending March 31, 2019.

According to the latest data, the number of taxpayers getting refunds is up by 62% from 1.22 crore refunds in the corresponding period of the last fiscal. In terms of the refund amount, there has been a surge of 31.7% from Rs 83,000 crore refunded to taxpayers in the corresponding period last year. The department received 5.8 crore IT Returns (ITRs) till October 21 as compared to 3.6 crore returns during the same period of last fiscal. This is an increase of about 61%.

The CBDT has given a target to the income tax department to add 1.25 crore new people by end of the current fiscal, as part of its efforts to widen and deepen the taxpayer base in the country. Moreover, 1.06 crore new income tax assesses were added in last year. The present taxpayer base in the country is over 6.26 crore.

The CNX Nifty ended at 10166.95, down by 78.30 points or 0.76% after trading in a range of 10102.35 and 10222.10. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were HPCL up by 4.01%, Indiabulls Housing Finance up by 3.30%, HDFC up by 2.21%, Power Grid up by 1.59% and Indusind Bank up by 1.56%. (Provisional)

On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 4.97%, Asian Paints down by 4.91%, Wipro down by 4.05%, Grasim Industries down by 3.49% and Ultratech Cement down by 3.45% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in red; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 63.14 points or 0.9% to 6,979.66, France’s CAC shed 80.34 points or 1.62% to 4,972.97 and Germany’s DAX fell 245.83 points or 2.18% to 11,278.51.

Asian markets ended lower on Tuesday as geopolitical tensions and uncertainty about near term outlook for the global economy forced investors to indulge in heavy selling in stocks from across various sectors. Further, worries about Italy's budgetary woes and Brexit too weighed on the markets even as investors geared up to upcoming corporate earnings results. Japanese shares ended lower, marking more than half a trillion dollars lost in market value this year, on growing investors’ concerns over upcoming corporate earnings and a slowdown in China’s economy.

Asian Indices

Last Trade           

Change in Points

Change in %

Shanghai Composite

2,594.83

-60.05

-2.31

Hang Seng

25,346.55

-806.60

-3.18

Jakarta Composite

5,797.89

-42.55

-0.73

KLSE Composite

1697.60

-24.87

-1.44

Nikkei 225

22,010.78

-604.04

-2.74

Straits Times

3,031.39

-46.67

-1.54

KOSPI Composite

2,106.10

-55.61

-2.64

Taiwan Weighted

9,775.20

-199.08

-2.04
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