The benchmark indices ended with robust gains on Friday, supported by strength in banks, financial services and auto stocks. As per provisional closing figures, the barometer index, S&P BSE Sensex rose 708.18 points or 1.21% at 59,276.69. The Nifty 50 index gained 205.70 points or 1.18% at 17,670.45.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 1.39%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.71%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, shares 2,729 rose and 667 shares fell. A total of 105 shares were unchanged.
Economy:
Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for March hit a record high of Rs 1.42 lakh crore, up 6.8% from the previous month, data released on April 1 by the finance ministry showed. "The revenues for the month of March 2022 are 15% higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year and 46% higher than the GST revenues in March 2020." the government said.
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India's current account deficit (CAD) increased to $23 billion (2.7% of GDP) in Q3:2021-22 from $9.9 billion (1.3% of GDP) in Q2:2021-22 and $2.2 billion (0.3% of GDP) a year ago [i.e., Q3:2020-21]. The widening of CAD in Q3:2021-22 was mainly on account of higher trade deficit, as per the data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 31 March 2022.
India's fiscal deficit for February-end stood at 82.7% of revised estimates in Budget, according to official data released by the government on Thursday. The fiscal gap stood at Rs 13.17 lakh crore.
In April-February, net tax receipts were Rs 14.81 lakh crore while total expenditure was Rs 31.44 lakh crore, the data showed. The revenue gap came in at Rs 8.7 lakh crore, while spending was at Rs 31.4 lakh crore.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Auto index rose 1.09% to 10,667.45. The index added 2.41% in three trading sessions.
Amara Raja Batteries (up 4.09%), Exide Industries (up 3.84%), Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (up 2.48%), Bajaj Auto (up 2.30%) and MRF (up 2.12%) were the top gainers in the Auto segment.
Escorts fell 0.27%. The company's total tractor sales declined by 18.3% YoY to 10,074 units in March 2022 from 12,337 units sold in March 2021. On a sequential basis tractor sales jumped 64.7% in March 2022 from 6,114 units sold in February 2022. Domestic tractor sales in March 2022 stood at 9,483 tractors as against 11,730 tractors sold in March 2021, registering a decline of 19.2% year on year. Escorts said fall in domestic sales was on the back of high base of last year and subdued commercial demand. The company further added that tractor industry wholesales continues to remain subdued in March 2022. Meanwhile, export tractor sales in March 2022 were at 591 units in March 2022 against 607 units sold in March 2021, posting a decline of 2.6% year on year.
Hero MotoCorp declined 2.30%. The Income Tax department uncovered irregularities to the tune of Rs 800 crore after raids on the company. The Income Tax Department said it conducted a search and seizure operation on a leading automobile manufacturer group along with a company operating chartered flights and a real estate group of Delhi-NCR covering more than 35 premises across Delhi-NCR, on 23 March 2022. During the course of the search operation, various incriminating documents and digital evidence have been found and seized indicating that the expenses ostensibly shown to have been claimed towards business purposes are not fully supported by evidences.
Maruti Suzuki India rose 1.52%. The company's recorded total sales of 1,70,395 units in March 2022, increasing 2% from 1,67,014 units sold in March 2021. Total sales in the month include domestic sales of 1,37,658 units, sales to other OEM of 6,241 units and its highest ever monthly exports of 26,496 units. On a sequential basis, however, the company's total sales have improved by 3.86% from 1,64,056 units sold in February 2022. Total domestic sales fell by 7.4% year on year to 1,43,899 units in March 2022. Total Exports soared 128% to 26,496 units in March 2022 over March 2021.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) advanced 2.48%. The company's passenger vehicles sales jumped 65% to 27,603 units in March 2022 over March 2021. M&M announced that its overall auto sales for the month of March 2022 stood at 54,643 vehicles. In the utility vehicles segment, M&M sold 27,380 vehicles in March 2022, up 65% year-on-year (YoY). Total exports for the month rose 49% to 3,160 vehicles in March 2022 over March 2021. In the commercial vehicles segment, the company sold 19,837 vehicles in March 2022 with growth of 16%. All the light commercial vehicle segments of <2T, Pickups (2T to 3.5T), >3.5T and the heavy commercial vehicles continued their growth trajectory in March 2022.
Ashok Leyland gained 1.58%. The company's total commercial vehicle (CV) sales rose 17% to 20,123 units in March 2022 as against 17,231 units in March 2021. The company's total CV sales increased 37.29% last month from 14,657 units sold in February 2022. While the total sales of medium & heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCV) jumped 26% to 13,990 units, sales of light commercial vehicles (LCVs) were flat at 6,133 units in March 2022 over March 2021.
Tata Motors added 1.75%. The company's total domestic sales jumped 30% to 86,718 units in March 2022 as against 66,462 units in March 2021. The total domestic sales rose 17.38% last month compared with 73,875 units in February 2022. Tata Motors said that its sales in the domestic and international market for Q4 FY22 stood at 2,43,459 vehicles compared with 1,91,373 units during Q4 FY21, up 27.22% year-on-year. Total domestic commercial vehicles (CV) sales rose 21% to 44,425 units in March 2022 over March 2021. CV exports declined 28% to 2,625 units during the period under review. Total domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales jumped 43% to 42,293 units in March 2022 over March 2021. PV ICE (internal combustion engine) sales rose 34% to 38,936 units while PV EV (electric vehicle) sales surged 376% to 3,357 units in March 2022 over March 2021.
Global Markets:
European shares advanced while Asian stocks ended on a mixed note on Friday, with talks between Russia and Ukraine continuing to guide investor sentiment.
Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have yielded little fruit thus far, with Kyiv and its Western allies remaining skeptical of Moscow's intentions and the legitimacy of its commitment to partial military pullbacks in northern Ukraine.
Meanwhile, China's Caixin/Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 48.1, below the 50-level that separates growth from contraction. That compared against the previous month's reading of 50.4. Friday's reading was also the lowest since February 2020.
Sentiment at Japan's large manufacturers soured in the three months to March, according to the Bank of Japan's quarterly tankan business sentiment survey. The headline index for large manufacturers' sentiment came in at 14, a decline from the previous quarter's reading of 17.
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