Indian equity markets continued to trade higher in late afternoon session as bargain hunters opted to pick fundamentally good stocks following the recent pullback made by the markets. Besides, softer US consumer inflation data has fuelled optimism about Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut, among the investor community. The report released by US Labor Department showed an unexpected slowdown in the annual rate of consumer price growth. It said consumer prices in November were up by 2.7 percent compared to the same month a year ago. Moreover, the renewed buying by foreign investors kept the sentiments upbeat.

On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mostly in green amid easing concerns over artificial intelligence spending and valuations. European equity markets were trading mostly in green, tracking cues from Wall Street overnight.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 84971.72, up by 489.91 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 84734.96 and 85067.50. There were 27 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.80%, while Small cap index was up by 0.84%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.23%, Industrials up by 1.19%, Realty up by 1.17%, Auto up by 1.05% and Utilities up by 0.97%, while Metal down by 0.23% was the sole losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharat Electronics up by 2.10%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.98%, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles up by 1.71%, Reliance Industries up by 1.49% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.22%. On the flip side, HCL Technologies down by 1.09%, ICICI Bank down by 0.13% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.10% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) in its report has said that India's trade deficit (difference between imports and exports) with China is likely to widen further to $106 billion in the calendar year 2025, as import growth significantly outpaces export growth to the neighbouring country. 

GTRI said that Indian shipments to China declined to about $15 billion in 2024 from about $23 billion in 2021. In 2025, country's exports to China are estimated to improve to $17.5 billion, still lower than a previous levels. On the other hand, India's imports from China have climbed much faster - to $102.6 billion in 2022, $91.8 billion in 2023 and $109.6 billion in 2024 from just $87.7 billion in 2021. In 2025, the country's inbound shipments are estimated at $123.5 billion. This has pushed India's trade deficit with China to $94.5 billion in 2024 from $64.7 billion in 2021.  

According to the GTRI, nearly 80 per cent of India's imports from China are concentrated in just four product groups - electronics, machinery, organic chemicals and plastics. During January-October 2025, India's imports from China were dominated by electronics, which totalled $38 billion. This included imports of mobile phone components ($8.6 billion), integrated circuits ($6.2 billion), laptops ($4.5 billion), solar cells and modules ($3 billion), flat-panel displays ($2.6 billion), lithium-ion batteries ($2.3 billion) and memory chips ($1.8 billion). 

Machinery imports followed at $25.9 billion, with transformers alone accounting for $2.1 billion, highlighting India's dependence on Chinese capital goods for power and industrial projects. Organic chemicals reached $11.5 billion, driven by antibiotics imports of $1.7 billion, underscoring China's dominance in pharmaceutical intermediates. Plastics imports during the period stood at $6.3 billion, including $871 million of PVC resin, while steel and steel products amounted to $4.6 billion and medical and scientific equipment added $2.5 billion.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25971.05, up by 155.50 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 25880.45 and 25993.35. There were 41 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Shriram Finance up by 3.76%, Max Healthcare Inst up by 2.89%, Bharat Electronics up by 2.18%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.96% and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles up by 1.71%. On the flip side, HCL Technology down by 1.11%, Hindalco down by 0.60%, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories down by 0.60%, JSW Steel down by 0.28% and Adani Ports & SEZ down by 0.17% were the top losers.

Asian equity markets were trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 591.5 points or 1.19% to 49,593.00, Taiwan Weighted added 227.82 points or 0.82% to 27,696.35, Hang Seng advanced 209.87 points or 0.82% to 25,708.00, KOSPI increased 26.04 points or 0.65% to 4,020.55, Straits Times rose 7.49 points or 0.16% to 4,578.10 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 14.08 points or 0.36% to 3,890.45, while Jakarta Composite plunged 6.96 points or 0.08% to 8,611.24.

European equity markets were trading mostly in green; France’s CAC rose 6.26 points or 0.08% to 8,156.90 and Germany’s DAX gained 89.7 points or 0.37% to 24,289.20, while UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 6.29 points or 0.06% to 9,831.48.