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Indices continue to witness gains in late morning deals
Jan-16-2026

Indian equity markets continued to witness gains and were trading higher by over half percent in late morning deals on account of buying by funds and retail investors. Positive cues from the global markets and falling crude oil prices supported domestic sentiments. Sentiments got boost after the likelihood of a U.S. strike on Iran receded. US President Donald Trump said the crackdown on protesters in Iran was easing, allaying concerns over potential military action against Iran and oil supply disruptions. Besides, there was encouragement in the markets as India and the European Union (EU) are likely to announce the conclusion of talks for the much awaited free-trade agreement (FTA) on January 27.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green following positive cues from the US markets overnight. Back home in the stock specific development, Reliance Industries gained ahead of its earnings release.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 83939.93, up by 557.22 points or 0.67% after trading in a range of 83510.34 and 84134.97. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.52%, while Small cap index up by 0.13%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 3.14%, TECK up by 2.10%, Realty up by 1.34%, Bankex up by 1.01% and Oil & Gas up by 0.80%, while Telecom down by 0.60%, Healthcare down by 0.60%, Capital Goods down by 0.34% and Consumer Durables down by 0.29% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 5.05%, Tech Mahindra up by 3.52%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.09%, HCL Technologies up by 1.56% and Bajaj Finance up by 1.45%. On the flip side, Eternal down by 1.40%, Sun Pharma down by 0.92%, Bharat Electronics down by 0.77%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.64% and ITC down by 0.45% were the top losers. 

Meanwhile, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in its Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) has showed the unemployment rate among people aged 15 and above grew marginally to 4.8% in the month of December 2025 from 4.7% in November 2025. During December, the unemployment rate in rural areas remained stagnant at 3.9%, while it rose to 6.7% in Urban India from 6.5% in the previous month. Meanwhile, joblessness among rural males remained low and stable at 4.1%, while unemployment rate among urban female moderated to 9.1% during December from 9.3% in November 2025. The survey noted that joblessness in the remaining gender sector increased slightly, continued to remain below the levels observed during the mid-year months.

In December, the overall Worker Population Ratio (WPR) rose marginally to 53.4% from 53.2% in November. The WPR among rural males has edged up to 76% in December from 75.4% in November, while it declined to 70.4% among urban males in December from 70.9% in November, pushing the overall male WPR to 74.1%. Further, the WPR among females rose marginally from 38.4% in November to 38.6% during December, while urban female WPR was around 23%, leading to an overall female WPR of 33.6% in December 2025 from 33.4% in November.
The overall Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) among persons of age 15 years and above showed an upward trend, overall LFPR rising to 56.1% in December 2025 compared to 55.8% in November. The LFPR in rural areas has increased to 59% in December from 58.6% in the preceding month. Meanwhile, urban areas experienced a slight dip to 50.2% during December from 50.4% in November.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25813.15, up by 147.55 points or 0.57% after trading in a range of 25678.40 and 25873.50. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Infosys up by 5.31%, Tech Mahindra up by 3.46%, Shriram Finance up by 3.05%, Wipro up by 2.71% and Tata MotorsPassenger up by 2.04%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 2.20%, Eternal down by 1.69%, Sun Pharma down by 1.49%, Bharat Electronics down by 1.25% and HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.17% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Taiwan Weighted added 618.05 points or 2.01% to 31,428.63, Shanghai Composite strengthened 3.08 points or 0.07% to 4,115.68, KOSPI increased 24.81 points or 0.52% to 4,822.36 and Straits Times rose 9.11 points or 0.19% to 4,842.45. However, Nikkei 225 slipped 25.5 points or 0.05% to 54,085.00 and Hang Seng declined 54.62 points or 0.2% to 26,869.00.
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