Key gauges remain in green in morning deals

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade in green in morning deals, driven by a rally in IT stocks and firm global market trends. Traders took support as S&P Global Ratings projected India's economy to grow 6.5 per cent in the current fiscal year and 6.7 per cent in the next, saying tax cuts and monetary policy easing will give a boost to consumption-driven growth. Some support also came as SBI research in its latest report stated that share of India's merchandise exports to other countries increased as shipments to the US declined since July 2025, indicating diversification of export basket across product categories. However, gains remain capped as some concern came with exchange data showed Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,766.05 crore on Friday. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in green amid optimism for Federal Reserve rate cuts and reports of potential Nvidia AI chip sales to China. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 85389.42, up by 157.50 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 85209.91 and 85450.36. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.20%, while Small cap index was down by 0.39%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.06%, TECK up by 0.82%, Bankex up by 0.48%, Telecom up by 0.46% and Metal up by 0.32%, while Capital Goods down by 0.59%, Industrials down by 0.45%, Utilities down by 0.45%, Realty down by 0.25% and Basic Materials down by 0.23% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 3.03%, Infosys up by 1.57%, Axis Bank up by 0.98%, HDFC Bank up by 0.94% and HCL Technologies up by 0.83%. On the flip side, Bharat Electronics down by 1.51%, Tata Motors Passenger down by 1.33%, Trent down by 1.15%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.92% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.80% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to boost foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector, the government has proposed to introduce a bill to raise FDI in the sector to 100 per cent in the upcoming Winter session of Parliament. The Winter session of Parliament is slated to begin on December 1 and continue till December 19. According to a Lok Sabha bulletin, the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill 2025 is part of the 10 legislations listed for the upcoming session of the Parliament. The bill seeks to deepen penetration, accelerate growth and development of the insurance sector and enhance ease of doing business. So far, India’s insurance sector has attracted investments worth Rs 82,000 crore through FDI.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in this year's Budget speech had proposed to raise the foreign investment limit to 100 per cent from the existing 74 per cent in the insurance sector as part of new-generation financial sector reforms. Along with raising FDI limit, the finance ministry has proposed amending various provisions of the Insurance Act, 1938, which includes reducing paid-up capital, and introducing a composite licence. The Insurance Act of 1938 serves as the principal Act to provide the legislative framework for insurance in India. It provides the framework for the functioning of insurance businesses and regulates the relationships among insurers, their policyholders, shareholders, and the regulator, IRDAI.

As part of a comprehensive legislative exercise, the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) Act 1956 and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act 1999 will be amended, alongside the Insurance Act 1938. The amendments to the LIC Act propose empowering its board to take operational decisions, such as branch expansion and recruitment. The proposed amendment primarily focuses on promoting policyholders' interests, enhancing their financial security, and facilitating the entry of additional players into the insurance market, thereby driving economic growth and employment generation. The changes will help enhance the efficiency of the insurance industry, enabling ease of doing business and enhancing insurance penetration to achieve the goal of 'Insurance for All by 2047'.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 26129.40, up by 61.25 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 26064.70 and 26137.55. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 3.09%, Eicher Motors up by 1.85%, Shriram Finance up by 1.83%, Infosys up by 1.62% and Wipro up by 1.32%. On the flip side, Bharat Electronics down by 1.63%, Tata Motors Passenger down by 1.33%, Trent down by 1.19%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.90% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.90% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; KOSPI increased 4.38 points or 0.11% to 3,857.64, Hang Seng advanced 415.98 points or 1.65% to 25,636.00, Straits Times rose 18.1 points or 0.4% to 4,487.24, Taiwan Weighted added 199.14 points or 0.75% to 26,634.08 and Jakarta Composite gained 69.39 points or 0.82% to 8,483.74.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 slipped 1198.06 points or 2.46% to 48,625.88 and Shanghai Composite weakened 10.22 points or 0.27% to 3,824.67.