Indian equity markets got momentum and entered into green in late afternoon session but the gains proved to be short lived and markets once again fell near neutral lines. Traders preferred to remained on sidelines ahead of weekly F&O expiry later in the day. Higher opening of European markets supported the markets, amid hopes of further interest rate cuts by Federal Reserve in 2026 and renewed optimism about technology stocks. Closer home, market participants sought cues on India-US bilateral trade deal. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that India is at an advanced stage of negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement with the US. However, gains got trimmed amid renewed foreign fund outflows. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were the net sellers on Monday’s session, offloading equities worth Rs 457.34 crore.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 85611.84, up by 44.36 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 85342.99 and 85704.93. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.01%, while Small cap index was up by 0.30%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Basic Materials up by 0.69%, PSU up by 0.67%, Utilities up by 0.63%, Metal up by 0.59% and Energy up by 0.45%, while IT down by 0.74%, TECK down by 0.72%, Realty down by 0.23%, Healthcare down by 0.20% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Ultratech Cement up by 1.52%, Tata Steel up by 1.09%, Power Grid Corporation up by 1.08%, NTPC up by 1.00% and HDFC Bank up by 0.97%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.28%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.88%, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries down by 0.67%, Adani Ports & SEZ down by 0.57% and TCS down by 0.54% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India’s trade negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the United States (US) are reached at advanced stage. Earlier this month, a US delegation led by Deputy Trade Representative Rick Switzer visited India to take stock of these talks. The two-day talks concluded on December 11, 2025.

The minister said that so far, India has finalised free trade agreements (FTAs) with three members of the Five Eyes (FVEY) alliance - Australia, United Kingdom (UK) and New Zealand. The other two members of the grouping are the US and Canada. He said India is also in the process of resuming talks for a trade agreement with Canada. He noted that ‘we are soon going to launch discussions for the ToR (terms of reference) with Canada also and this reflects the growing strategic importance of India in world geopolitics.’

The India-US trade pact talks are crucial as the two sides are working to finalise the first tranche of the BTA. The talks are also important as the Trump administration has imposed steep tariffs of up to 50% on most Indian goods entering American markets. As part of the pact, the US is seeking duty concessions on agri products like almonds, corn and apples, and industrial goods. India has strongly opposed any concessions on the agri and dairy sectors. India has stated that it will not compromise the interests of farmers and MSMEs. The US remained India's largest trading partner for the fourth year in a row in 2024–25, with bilateral trade reaching $131.84 billion in FY25, including $86.5 billion in exports from India. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 26198.00, up by 25.60 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 26119.05 and 26233.55. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 3.56%, Shriram Finance up by 2.07%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.40%, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles up by 1.16% and Power Grid Corporation up by 1.08%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.36%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.83%, Cipla down by 0.71%, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries down by 0.66% and Adani Ports & SEZ down by 0.64% were the top losers.

Asian equity markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted added 160.83 points or 0.57% to 28,310.47, KOSPI increased 11.39 points or 0.28% to 4,117.32, Straits Times rose 30.21 points or 0.65% to 4,640.50 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 2.62 points or 0.07% to 3,919.98, while Nikkei 225 slipped 41.39 points or 0.08% to 50,361.00, Hang Seng declined 21.77 points or 0.08% to 25,780.00 and Jakarta Composite plunged 71.16 points or 0.83% to 8,574.68.

European equity markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 11.62 points or 0.12% to 9,877.59 and Germany’s DAX gained 89.43 points or 0.37% to 24,373.40, while  France’s CAC fell 15.77 points or 0.19% to 8,105.30.