Indian equity benchmarks were trading flat with positive bias in morning deals, helped by buying in blue-chips Mahindra & Mahindra and Reliance Industries, and rate cut optimism. Traders took some support with the finance ministry’s report stated that the GST rate rationalisation gave a measurable boost to consumption, and the Indian economy is on a stable footing to navigate risks and maintain growth momentum through the current fiscal. However, gains remain capped as investors moved cautiously, awaited the GDP growth numbers for the July-September period to be announced later in the day. Sector-wise, textile industry’s stocks remained in watch as the government has approved the Textiles Focused Research, Assessment, Monitoring, Planning and Start-up (Tex-RAMPS) Scheme, to strengthen research, innovation and competitiveness in textiles sector. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as traders continued to react to optimism about an interest rate cut by the US Fed in December after three Fed officials recently voiced their preference for lowering rates further and soft US economic data. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 85798.13, up by 77.75 points or 0.09% after trading in a range of 85577.82 and 85926.67. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index fell 0.12%, while Small cap index was down by 0.11%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.42%, Auto up by 0.40%, Basic Materials up by 0.26%, FMCG up by 0.14% and Consumer discretionary up by 0.13%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.78%, Power down by 0.48%, Telecom down by 0.48%, Realty down by 0.45% and PSU down by 0.41% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.02%, Reliance Industries up by 0.86%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.67%, Tech Mahindra up by 0.60% and Adani Ports &SEZ up by 0.57%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation down by 0.97%, NTPC down by 0.69%, Tata Motors Passenger down by 0.66%, Axis Bank down by 0.65% and Infosys down by 0.52% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, rating agency ICRA has estimated individual new business premium (NBP) for the life insurance sector to grow at around Rs 1.8 lakh crore in FY2026 and Rs 2.0 lakh crore for FY2027, from Rs 1.66 lakh crore in FY2025. Further, it expects GST exemption on individual life insurance policies, which enhances customer affordability, to boost individual NBP growth in the medium term. However, in short term, the agency noted that the value of new business (VNB) margins may face pressure due to the loss of input tax credit, following the GST exemption.

ICRA expects share of individual NBP of private insurers to rise to around 65% by FY2027, up from 63% in FY2025. On the other hand, Group NBP, which saw modest growth of around 1% each in FY2024 and FY2025 due to LIC's subdued performance, expanded by 10.3% in seven months of FY2026. Consequently, the overall NBP (Individual + Group) is expected to rise to Rs 4.3 lakh crore and Rs 4.7 lakh crore in FY2026 and FY2027, respectively, from Rs 4 lakh crore in FY2025.

In the light of anticipated strong growth and a continued rise in sum assured, solvency is projected to moderate, while continuing to exceed the regulatory minimum of 1.5 times. It also noted that the solvency position of private insurers remained strong at 2.1 times as of March 2025, supported by equity infusions and the issuance of subordinated debt during FY2025.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 26236.20, up by 20.65 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 26172.40 and 26267.80. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Adani Enterprises up by 2.15%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.07%, Reliance Industries up by 0.88%, Hindalco up by 0.72% and Tech Mahindra up by 0.64%. On the flip side, Power Grid Corporation down by 0.99%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.96%, HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.91%, NTPC down by 0.79% and Axis Bank down by 0.65% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 23.9 points or 0.05% to 50,191.00, Taiwan Weighted added 205.11 points or 0.74% to 27,759.64, Shanghai Composite strengthened 6.24 points or 0.16% to 3,881.50 and Straits Times rose 20.72 points or 0.46% to 4,530.06.

On the flip side, KOSPI dropped 56.73 points or 1.42% to 3,930.18, Hang Seng declined 23.93 points or 0.09% to 25,922.00 and Jakarta Composite plunged 27.88 points or 0.33% to 8,517.99.