Record GST mop-up buoys bourses

Mumbai: Equity benchmarks ended higher on Tuesday mainly due to buying in index heavyweights Infosys and Reliance Industries (RIL) amid foreign fund inflows. Also, firm trend in Asian gauges and record GST collection in April added to the optimism.

Rallying for the eighth straight day, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 242.27 points or 0.40 per cent to settle at 61,354.71. During the day, it jumped 373.8 points or 0.61 per cent to 61,486.24. The broader NSE Nifty went up 82.65 points or 0.46 per cent to finish at 18,147.65 points.

“Defying the trend in global peers, Indian benchmark indices continued its upward momentum, fuelled by strong Q4 earnings and favourable domestic macroeconomic data. The manufacturing PMI surpassed expectations due to an increase in new business, moderation in price pressures, and improved supply chain conditions. Additionally, the GST collection in April was the highest recorded to date. While western markets traded with mild cuts ahead of the US Fed policy announcement, the domestic market benefited from strong inflows by FIIs,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were buyers on Friday as they bought equities worth Rs 3,304.32 crore, according to exchange data.

GST collection in April rose by 12 per cent annually to over Rs 1.87 lakh crore, touching an all-time monthly high, showed finance ministry data released on Monday. Manufacturing activities in India accelerated further and touched a four-month high in April, boosted by robust new business growth, mild price pressures, better international sales, and improving supply-chain conditions, a monthly survey said on Monday. Markets are now awaiting the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision on Wednesday.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.74 per cent and smallcap index gained 0.63 per cent.