Mumbai, Sep 16: Indian stock markets traded higher on Wednesday with equity benchmarks rising around 0.7 per cent each in early deals amid buying in FMCG, banking, cement and auto stocks.

Nifty was at an intraday high of 23,281, an increase of 162 points or 0.70 per cent in morning trade, while Sensex rose over 500 points or 0.67 per cent to 74,505.

Sector-wise, Nifty FMCG, Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Cement and Nifty Auto were top gainers which gained up to 1.45 per cent.

Meanwhile, Nifty Oil & Gas rose 0.54 per cent, while Nifty Private Bank gained 0.33 per cent.

On the other hand, Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom fell 0.68 per cent, while Nifty MidSmall Healthcare, Nifty500 Healthcare, Nifty Pharma and Nifty Chemicals declined between 0.18 per cent and 0.51 per cent.

According to market experts, the market structure remained weak with elevated US bond yields and high crude oil prices weighing on sentiment.

“Foreign institutional investors have remained sellers over the past five sessions, and could continue to sell on rallies as the US 10-year Treasury yield remains elevated,” they said.

Analysts said the US Federal Reserve’s expected 25-basis-point rate hike was largely priced in making its commentary on the economic outlook and future rate actions more important for markets.

Despite the broader weakness, experts said stock-specific opportunities remained, with the appointment of a new MD and CEO at HDFC Bank and new NPCI norms for digital transactions among events that could influence the market.

On the technical front, experts said the inability of the Nifty to sustain above 23,515 had invalidated the recent upside attempt. Consecutive closes below the lower Bollinger Band and Tuesday’s bearish engulfing candle reflected strong bearishness, although they also suggested that fear may be peaking.

Nifty remains within the 23,260-23,000 support band, offering hopes of a revival. A close below this zone could bring the 22,600-21,800 range into focus, they said.

New Delhi, Sep 15: Meta will directly report child safety matters to India’s Cybercrime portal managed by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), the US-based technology giant said on Tuesday.

The decision comes amid heightened scrutiny of Meta in India over the alleged circulation and promotion of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) through advertisements on Instagram.

The government has said the online safety of children is a fundamental principle for every social media platform operating in India and remains non-negotiable, according to government sources. The commitment by Meta is being seen as a first step towards strengthening safeguards for children on social media platforms, they added.

Meta — in a statement on the ongoing issue — said protecting children on its platforms is a priority and that it is committed to working with the government to ensure perpetrators of such crimes are held responsible.

“To collectively strengthen our efforts to combat this harm, Meta will now report child safety matters directly to the Cyber crime portal managed by I4C,” a Meta spokesperson said.

Social media platforms can be used to circulate or facilitate access to CSAM and other forms of child exploitation.

Reporting such cases to law enforcement agencies would help ensure that such incidents are not dealt with solely through platforms’ internal content-moderation systems.

The government has stressed that more needs to be done and that discussions are continuing with other social media platforms to proactively identify and remove harmful content.

It has also warned that action could be taken against platforms that fail to adopt adequate proactive measures to protect children online.

The development comes amid growing global scrutiny of social media platforms over risks to children, including exposure to sexual exploitation, harmful content and online abuse.

In India, social media platforms are governed by the Information Technology Act and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which prescribe due-diligence obligations for intermediaries.

Meta had faced scrutiny after an investigation by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) found that Facebook and Instagram carried paid advertisements featuring child sexual abuse material this year, including AI-manipulated images of real children.

The investigation also found more than 300 advertisements featuring AI-generated child sexual abuse material on Meta’s platforms.

Mumbai, Sep 15: Indian equity benchmarks opened higher on Tuesday despite global markets remaining under pressure amid elevated US bond yields and crude oil prices.

Sensex opened at 75,369.63, up 587.87 points or 0.79 per cent, while Nifty began trading at 23,576.15, higher by 178.05 points or 0.76 per cent. The gains were led by information technology stocks as Nifty IT index jumped more than 4 per cent, while the Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom index rose nearly 2 per cent.

Other sectors, Nifty FMCG gained 0.72 per cent, while Nifty Auto rose 0.31 per cent. Media, energy and private banking indices were also marginally higher.

In contrast, Nifty Metal fell 0.58 per cent, while Nifty Financial Services Ex-Bank and Nifty MidSmall Financial Services declined 0.52 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively. Nifty Pharma fell 0.37 per cent, while cement, healthcare, consumer durables and realty indices also traded lower.

Among Nifty 50 stocks, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Grasim Industries, BEL, Shriram Finance and InterGlobe Aviation were top losers which declined between nearly 1 per cent and 1.67 per cent.

“Global equity markets will be under pressure from the US 10-year yield hitting the psychological 5 per cent mark. The macro scenario will continue to be under pressure from rising crude prices,” according to market experts.

The continuing boom in the initial public offering market and the outperformance of the broader market were also cited as positives for domestic equities, according to market experts.

On the Nifty’s technical outlook, the expert said the pullback from the 23,260-23,000 region suggested the index was attempting a swing higher after approaching oversold territory, they said.

“This mean reversion move could potentially aim for 23,720,” the experts said, while cautioning that failure to clear 23,515, or a direct fall below the 23,260-23,000 region, could bring the 22,600-21,800 range into focus.