NIFTY50, SENSEX trade higher with moderate gains; Britannia, and Shriram Finance among top gainers

Indian equity markets were trading in green in morning deals on account of buying in Ultratech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra, Nestle, Infosys and Sun Pharma. Meanwhile, broader indices also traded in green, with the BSE Midcap and Small cap index gaining in the range of 0.25-0.40%.

Sentiments were boosted when foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹1,285.96 crore on December 10.

There was some encouragement in markets as Minister of State (MoS) in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada said the government is developing industrial corridor projects as part of the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP) to develop greenfield industrial areas, regions, and nodes to compete with the world's top manufacturing and investment destinations.

Cement industry-related stocks were in focus, fueled by reports that cement dealers have initiated price hikes since the start of December.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed as investors awaited a key policy meeting in China. China is reportedly kicking off its annual economic work conference today to outline its economic policies and growth targets for next year. Back home, in a stock-specific development, PNC Infratech zoomed after the company's subsidiary Hathras Highways completed an order worth Rs 738 crore two months before its date.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81664.75, up by 154.70 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 81383.42 and 81689.90. The index had 19 stocks advancing and 11 stocks declining.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.26%, while the Small cap index up by 0.39%.

The NIFTY50 traded at 24671.75, up by 61.70 points or 0.25% after trading in a range of 24583.85 and 24677.00. The index had 36 advancing stocks and 14 declining stocks.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Straits Times fell 19.18 points or 0.5% to 3,794.37, Nikkei 225 slipped 94.17 points or 0.24% to 39,273.41, Taiwan Weighted lost 188.87 points or 0.82% to 22,936.21, and Hang Seng declined 0.94 points to 20,310.34. However, the Jakarta Composite gained 50.33 points or 0.68% to 7,503.62, the Shanghai Composite strengthened 7.59 points or 0.22% to 3,430.2,5, and the KOSPI increased 17.50 points or 0.72% to 2,435.34.