Sensex, Nifty remain higher in late morning session

Indian equity benchmarks remained higher in late morning session, with both Sensex and Nifty trading in green terrain. Positive cues from other Asian markets helped key indices to remain higher. Traders were positive, as around 50 Indian companies are taking part in a three-day business exhibition in Nepal, aimed to promote Brand India and enhance bilateral trade and investment by creating awareness about trade opportunities available on both sides.

Besides, with an aim to formulate measures to improve ease of living, doing business and reduce the compliance burden, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has pitched for simplicity. He also called for the creation of a single identification number for businesses and individuals by merging several identification numbers that exist presently, such as Aadhaar, PAN and TAN, so that delivery of services becomes smoother and faster.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading in green, after Taiwan's unemployment rate dropped in November. The Directorate General of Budget Accounting & Statistics, or DGBAS, reported that the unemployment rate fell slightly to a seasonally adjusted 3.71 percent from 3.84 percent in October. In the same period last year, the jobless rate was 3.76 percent. On an unadjusted basis, the jobless rate came in at 3.66 percent versus 3.83 percent a month ago.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57198.21, up by 267.65 points or 0.47% after trading in a range of 57146.28 and 57446.20. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.87%, while Small cap index was up by 0.75%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.22%, PSU up by 1.11%, Oil & Gas up by 0.98%, Consumer Durables up by 0.97% and Power up by 0.96%, while Telecom down by 0.86% was the only losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 2.43%, ITC up by 2.12%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.86%, NTPC up by 1.75% and Tech Mahindra up by 1.08%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 1.05%, Asian Paints down by 0.83%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.20%, Sun Pharma down by 0.18% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.17% were the top losers.

Meanwhile,the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) minutes released by the central bank has showed that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das pitched for continued policy support to nurture revival in sectors especially those which are exposed to the evolving headwinds in the wake of spread of Omicron variant of Covid.

The Monetary Policy Committee on December 8 had unanimously voted for status quo on policy rates for the ninth consecutive time. As per the minutes, Das said there was growing uncertainty regarding the evolving global macroeconomic outlook.

On the domestic front, he even as the prospects for economic activity are improving, there is still a slack with key drivers like private consumption remaining well below their pre-pandemic levels. MPC member and RBI Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra too expressed concerns on the spread of the new variant of coronavirus, saying suddenly, the global outlook has darkened.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17031.85, up by 76.40 points or 0.45% after trading in a range of 17015.55 and 17107.85. There were 35 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid up by 2.46%, ITC up by 2.19%, NTPC up by 2.04%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.98% and Indian Oil Corp. up by 1.93%. On the flip side, Divi's Lab down by 1.45%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.93%, Asian Paints down by 0.88%, Shree Cement down by 0.82% and JSW Steel down by 0.63% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading in green; Nikkei 225 gained 193.71 points or 0.68% to 28,755.92, Straits Times rose 8.12 points or 0.26% to 3,095.63, Hang Seng advanced 26.28 points or 0.11% to 23,128.61, Taiwan Weighted jumped 79.89 points or 0.45% to 17,906.72, KOSPI gained 7.65 points or 0.26% to 2,992.13, Jakarta Composite added 5.88 points or 0.09% to 6,535.47 and Shanghai Composite was up by 4.57 points or 0.13% to 3,627.19.