Markets trade firm in early trade as GST revenues hit record in April

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices rebounded in early trade on Thursday amid optimistic investors' sentiment boosted by a record high GST collections in April and foreign fund inflows.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 204.88 points to 74,687.66 in early trade. The NSE Nifty went up by 57.35 points to 22,662.20.

From the Sensex basket, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma and HDFC Bank were among the major gainers.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Maruti, Wipro and Titan were among the laggards.

Goods and Services Tax collections grew 12.4 per cent to a record high of Rs 2.10 lakh crore in April, aided by strong economic momentum and increased domestic transactions and imports, the finance ministry said on Wednesday.

The GST collections have breached the Rs 2 lakh crore-mark for the first time in April this year, it said in a statement.

"The domestic cues are strongly positive. The GST collection for April setting a record of Rs 2.1 trillion indicates a booming economy," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

In Asian markets, Tokyo and Hong Kong were trading with gains while Seoul and Shanghai quoted lower.

Wall Street ended on a mixed note on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.53 per cent to USD 83.88 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,071.93 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

"Positive factors include record-high GST revenue, FIIs and DIIs being net buyers, and WTI oil prices falling below USD 80 a barrel," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

Domestic equity markets were closed on Wednesday on account of Maharashtra Day.

Snapping its two-day winning run, the BSE benchmark declined 188.50 points or 0.25 per cent to settle at 74,482.78 on Tuesday. The NSE Nifty dipped 38.55 points or 0.17 per cent to finish at 22,604.85.