As per the provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 214.18 points or 0.37% at 57,338.21. The Nifty 50 index lost 55.95 points or 0.33% at 17,076.25.
The Sensex hit record high of 57,918.71 while the Nifty hit all time high of 17,225.75 in morning trade today.
The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.92% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.22%.
Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 1,509 shares rose and 1,668 shares fell. A total of 153 shares were unchanged.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 21,77,14,423 with 45,19,287 deaths. India reported 3,78,181 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,39,020 deaths while 3,19,93,644 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
India administered more than 1 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses yesterday. With the administration of 1,33,18,718 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has surpassed the cumulative figure of 65.41 crore as per provisional reports till 7 am today.
The recovery of 33,964 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the cumulative tally of recovered patients (since the beginning of the pandemic) to 3,19,93,644. Consequently, India's recovery rate stands at 97.51%.
Economy:
The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 52.3 in August, pointing to an improvement in overall operating conditions for the second straight month. The headline figure fell from 55.3 in July, indicating a softer rate of growth that was subdued in the context of historical survey data.
India's gross domestic product (GDP) surged 20.1% in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal. The GDP logged a high growth amid the opening of the economy after the lockdown to arrest Covid-19 and low base effect as the economy witnessed a contraction of 24.4% in the first quarter of 2020-21 fiscal.
Briefing the media, Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian said the banking sector has now developed a cushion to withstand impending bad loans. He said inflation is expected to be in the 5 to 6% range going forward. Subramanian said India is poised for stronger growth from structural reforms, government CAPEX push and rapid inoculation. He said high-frequency indicators such as the Google mobility indicator shows activity has picked up, even grocery activity has picked up to pre-COVID 19 levels. Subramanian said MNREGA work requirement has declined in August. He said power consumption is indicating strong recovery as well.
Further, India's fiscal deficit for April-July period stood at Rs 3.21 lakh crore ($43.98 billion), which is 21.3% of the full fiscal's target. The deficit figures this fiscal appear much better than the previous financial year, when it soared to 103.1% of the estimate, mainly on account of a jump in expenditure to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the production of eight core industries rose by 9.4% in July against a 7.6% decline in the year-ago month. According to official data released on Tuesday showed that all sectors except crude oil registered an increase in output. The output of core sectors had registered a 7.6% decline in July 2020 due to COVID-19 related restrictions. On a month-on-month basis, output rose 5.4% in July after growing 1.5% in June.
GST Collection for August 2021:
The gross GST revenue collected in the month of August 2021 stood at Rs 1,12,020 crore of which CGST stood at Rs 20,522 crore, SGST at Rs 26,605 crore, IGST at Rs 56,247 crore (including Rs 26,884 crore collected on import of goods) while Cess came at Rs 8,646 crore.
The revenues for the month of August 2021 are 30% higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year. Even as compared to the August revenues in 2019-20 of Rs 98,202 crore, this is a growth of 14%.
GST collection, after posting above Rs 1 lakh crore mark for nine months in a row, dropped below Rs 1 lakh crore in June 2021 due to the second wave of covid. With the easing out of COVID restrictions, GST collection for July and August 2021 have again crossed Rs 1 lakh crore, which clearly indicates that the economy is recovering at a fast pace. Coupled with economic growth, anti-evasion activities, especially action against fake billers have also been contributing to the enhanced GST collections. The robust GST revenues are likely to continue in the coming months too, the Government said in a press release.
Auto Sales for August 2021:
Maruti Suzuki fell 0.79%. The car maker's total sales (domestic+export) rose 4.87% to 130,699 units in August 2021 as against 124,624 units in August 2020. While the company's total domestic sales (domestic+OEM) declined 5.68% to 110,080 units, total export sales increased by 160.34% to 20,619 units in August 2021 over August 2020. Maruti Suzuki India said that the sales volume of the company in August 2021 was affected due to electronic components shortage. The company took all possible measures to limit the adverse impact. While the sales volume in August 2021 was affected due to electronic components shortage, the sales volume in August 2020 was impacted due to COVID-19 related disruptions.
Tata Motors surged 2.51% after the company's sales in the domestic and international market for August 2021 stood at 57,995 vehicles, up 57.87% as against 36,505 units sold in August 2020. Total domestic sales rose by 53% to 54,190 units in August 2020 from 35,420 units in August 2021. The company's domestic sales rose 4% last month compared with 51,981 units sold in July 2021. While total commercial vehicles (CV) sales increased 66% to 29,781 units, total passenger vehicles (PV) sales jumped by 51% to 28,018 units in August 2021 over August 2020.
Eicher Motors rose 0.95% after the company's unit, VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), recorded 93.5% surge in total commercial vehicles (CV) sales to 4793 units in August 2021 as against 2477 units in August 2020.
Bajaj Auto rose 0.74% after the auto major's total sales jumped 5% to 3,73,270 units in August 2021 as against 3,56,199 units sold in August 2020. Sequentially, the company's total sales gained 1.12% in August 2021 as against 3,69,116 units sold in July 2021.
Escorts rose 0.04%. The company posted sales of 5,693 tractors in August 2021, registering a de-growth of 21.7% compared with 7,268 tractors sold in August 2020. Domestic tractor sales in August 2021 stood at 4,920 tractors as against 6,750 tractors in August 2020, down 27.1% on a YoY basis. "This year August sales is not strictly comparable with last year same month sales because of existence of pent-up demand last year, post COVID-19 national wide lockdowns. As we enter festive season months, we see farmer sentiment strong and enquiry level building up, driven by favourable macroeconomic factors, reasonably good water level of reservoirs, good pace of Kharif sowing and continued support by the Government in Agri sector, Escorts said in press release.
V S T Tillers Tractors fell 4.27% after the company's total power tiller and tractor sales declined 5.63% to 3,336 units in August 2021 compared with 3,535 units in August 2020. While the company's power tiller sales fell 1.36% to 2,602 units, tractor sales contracted 18.17% to 734 units in August 2021 compared with August 2020.
Global Markets:
European stocks rallied across the board while most Asian markets closed on a mixed note on Wednesday.
The euro zone inflation data for August showed consumer prices increased by 3% this month from a year ago, according to preliminary estimates. This was far above expectations and the European Central Bank's 2% target. The data will put pressure on the central bank to address inflation concerns at a key meeting next week.
China's Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 49.2 last month, from 50.3 in July, breaching the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction.
U.S. stocks ended slightly lower Tuesday as investors looked ahead to U.S. jobs data for August coming Friday, where they might find clues as to when the Federal Reserve may begin tapering its bond purchases which have helped to support markets during the pandemic.
The Conference Board said its closely followed index of consumer confidence slid to a six-month low at 113.8 this month from a revised 125.1 in July, reflecting concerns about the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
In other U.S. economic data, the Chicago purchasing managers index dropped to 66.8 in August from a previous reading of 73.4. And home prices rose 18.6% annually in June, up from a 16.8% increase in May, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index.
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