Mumbai, Dec 22: Indian benchmark indices opened in green zone on Monday, breaking the last week’s trend of edging lower, amid strong buying in the US and China markets.

As of 9.30 am, the Sensex advanced 507 points, or 0.60 per cent, at 84,436 and the Nifty added 165 points, or 0.64 per cent to 26,132.

The broad cap indices performed in line with the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap 100 up 0.58 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 adding 0.51 per cent.

Hindalco, Tech Mahindra and TCS were among the major gainers in the Nifty Pack, while losers included Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, Max Healthcare and Cipla.

All the sectoral indices on NSE were trading in the green with metal, IT and media being the major gainers — up around 1.48, 1.23 and 0.77 per cent, respectively.

Analysts noted that market is likely heading for a year-end rally. The rupee’s sharp reversal and FIIs’ cash market purchases can accelerate this rally, as they lead to short covering, pushing benchmark indices higher. The Goldilocks domestic economic set up and potential earnings growth uptrend can support a market upturn, they added.

The US markets ended mostly in the green zone on the last trading day, as Nasdaq advanced 1.31 per cent, the S&P 500 edged up 0.88 per cent, and the Dow moved up 0.38 per cent.

As investors parsed China’s central bank keeping loan prime rate steady, Asia-Pacific markets rose on Monday.

The People’s Bank of China maintained its 1-year and 5-year loan prime rates steady, which affects most new and outstanding loans and mortgages.

In Asian markets, China’s Shanghai index advanced 0.64 per cent, and Shenzhen dropped 1.36 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei edged up 1.75 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.29 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi added 1.72 per cent.

On Friday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 2,387 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 5,200 crore.

New Delhi, Dec 20: A total of 38 railway projects (11 new lines, 2 gauge conversion and 25 doubling) of a total length of 5,098 kms and costing Rs 89,780 crore have been sanctioned in Maharashtra (as on April 1, 2025), the government said on Saturday.

During the last three fiscals — 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and the current financial year 2025-26 — 98 surveys (29 New Line, 2 Gauge Conversion and 67 Doubling) of total length 8,603 km falling fully/partly in the state of Maharashtra, have been sanctioned, it said.

“Further, construction works on the flagship High-Speed Bullet Train project have gathered momentum in Maharashtra. Now 100 per cent of land acquisition has been completed. Works on bridges, aqueducts, etc. have been taken up,” the Railways Ministry said in a statement.

In addition, platform extension work at 34 stations to accommodate 15-car EMUs has been taken up.

To improve the capacity of the rail network in the Mumbai suburban area, the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP)-II costing Rs 8,087 crore, MUTP-III costing Rs 10,947 crore, and MUTP-IIIA costing Rs 33,690 crore have been sanctioned.

To enhance passenger carrying capacity, 238 rakes of 12 cars each with doors have been sanctioned under MUTP-III and IIIA at a cost of Rs 19,293 crore. The process for the procurement of these rakes has been taken up.

With Western DFC also passing through Maharashtra, as about 178 route km of it or about 12 per cent of the overall route length, falling in the state, the ministry said that “about 76 km of this project from New Gholvad to New Vaitarna in Maharashtra has already been commissioned. Balance works have been taken up. Connectivity of WDFC to JNPT will boost the capacity to handle cargo and container traffic from the port to Delhi NCR”.

Presently, about 120 originating Mail/Express trains and about 3,200 suburban trains are handled daily in the Mumbai area.

Mumbai, Dec 20: Indian equity benchmarks closed on a strong note this week, snapping a four-day losing streak amid positive global cues stemming from US inflation data.

The market ended the week in a bullish tone with Nifty surging 0.18 per cent during the week and 0.58 per cent on the last trading day to 25,966, after a softer US CPI print boosted expectations of a milder Fed stance.

At close, the Sensex was up 447.55 points or 0.53 per cent at 84,929.

Indian equities were traded in a cautious tone for most of the week, weighed down by persistent FII outflows, rupee depreciation, and heightened global uncertainties.

Further, early sessions also saw pressure from rising Japanese bond yields and expectations of Bank of Japan (BoJ) tightening, which amplified risk-off sentiment across emerging markets.

Bargain hunting and lower crude prices helped large caps drive a late rebound, trimming most of the week’s losses, market watchers said.

Broader indices also rose marginally during the week, with the Nifty Midcap100 up 0.04 per cent, while Nifty Smallcap100 was unchanged during the week. It gained 1.34 per cent at the close.

On the sectoral front, all sectors traded with a positive bias. Major contributions came from Nifty Realty, Auto, Healthcare, and Chemicals, while other sectors also posted modest gains.

Nifty has 26,200-26,300 as stiff resistance levels while 25,700–25,800 levels will act as support zone, they added.

Analysts said markets will likely maintain a cautiously positive bias in near future but remain highly sensitive to global cues.

Key drivers going forward include comments from the global central banks for the 2026 policy trajectory. While sentiment remains constructive, near-term volatility may persist amid uncertainty over trade deal timelines and the Indian rupee stability, they added.