Domestic equity indices erased all losses and were trading in green with gains of over quarter a percent in late morning deals on account of buying by funds and retail investors. Traders got some support as crude oil prices fell after U.S. President Donald Trump pressured OPEC and its de facto leader Saudi Arabia to lower prices in a broad push to drive up crude production. Further, some support also came in as Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that India is poised for a global leadership position in the area of artificial innovation just like it has proven its mettle in IT services.
On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green following positive cues from the US markets overnight. Back home, on the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up positions in Utilities, TECK, Bankex, Power and FMCG, while selling was witnessed in Healthcare, Industrials, Oil & Gas, Capital Goods and Consumer Disc.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76808.01, up by 287.63 points or 0.38% after trading in a range of 76225.26 and 76823.37. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.62%, while Small cap index down by 0.94%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 0.78%, TECK up by 0.62%, Bankex up by 0.52%, Power up by 0.47% and FMCG up by 0.47%, while Healthcare down by 1.24%, Industrials down by 0.79%, Oil & Gas down by 0.67%, Capital Goods down by 0.64% and Consumer Disc down by 0.55% were the top losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 2.00%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.58%, Infosys up by 1.17%, ICICI Bank up by 1.13% and Tata Steel up by 1.03%. On the flip side, Zomato down by 1.37%, Tata Motors down by 1.14%, Indusind Bank down by 1.12%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.77% and Bajaj Finserv down by 0.46% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that India is poised for a global leadership position in the area of artificial innovation just like it has proven its mettle in IT services. He said all necessary regulations would be in place for AI while maintaining a balance with innovation. Talking about a united India face at Davos this time, he said ‘Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told us clearly that the Indian pavilion this time in Davos should integrate all states. That has sent a very good signal this time for a unified image of the country. Leaders from 5-6 different parties came together on one stage.’
He said people across the world now understand how India could stay on a sustained growth path when many other countries went deep under debt. On misinformation and mistrust emerging as biggest threats globally as identified by the World Economic Forum and challenges posed by AI, he said ‘we will definitely need to take necessary safeguards but the opportunities presented by AI are also huge and they must be tapped responsibly.’
He stated ‘The way India has proved its mettle in IT services, a similar opportunity is there in terms of AI. For that we need to prepare our youth. Like we started 5G labs in 100 universities for telecom and the way we equipped 250 universities with latest semiconductor design tools, the same we are starting AI-ready courses in 200 universities to prepare our youth to ensure leadership position for India in the AI space.’
The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23279.20, up by 73.85 points or 0.32% after trading in a range of 23102.90 and 23292.05. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid up by 2.07%, JSW Steel up by 1.75%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.70%, Tata Consumer up by 1.53% and ICICI Bank up by 1.27%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 4.54%, Apollo Hospital down by 1.30%, Indusind Bank down by 1.14%, Tata Motors down by 1.10% and SBI Life Insurance down by 0.97% were the top losers.
Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Shanghai Composite strengthened 24.91 points or 0.77% to 3,255.07, Hang Seng advanced 420.4 points or 2.09% to 20,120.96, KOSPI increased 19.16 points or 0.76% to 2,534.65, Nikkei 225 surged 44.39 points or 0.11% to 40,003.26. However, Jakarta Composite plunged 16.49 points or 0.23% to 7,216.15 and Straits Times fell 4.52 points or 0.12% to 3,802.05.