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Indian equity markets held early gains without reacting much to the increasing cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 globally. Sentiments were upbeat as a quarterly employment survey released by the Union labour ministry showed that total employment in nine sectors rose to 3.10 crore during the July-September period of 2021, an increase of 2 lakh compared to June quarter last year. However, investors remained on edge as all private offices in Delhi to be closed except those under exempted category in view of rising COVID-19 cases. Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal called upon stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem to strive to take India to the top 25 in the Global Innovation Index from the 46th position recorded in 2021.

On the global front, Asain markets were trading mixed as fast spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is weighing on markets as US hospitalisations due to COVID-19 reached a record high on Monday. Back home, market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 2067:1291 while 91 scrips remain unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60565.25, up by 169.62 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 60281.52 and 60621.37. There were 15 stocks advancing against 15 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.20%, while Small cap index was up by 0.58%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.37%, Utilities up by 1.36%, Power up by 1.17%, Energy up by 0.82% and IT was up by 0.70%, while Metal down by 1.56%, Telecom down by 1.00%, Basic Materials down by 0.31%, FMCG down by 0.16% and Bankex was down by 0.11% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL Tech up by 3.71%, HDFC up by 1.45%, Reliance Industries up by 1.09%, NTPC up by 0.95% and Sun Pharma was up by 0.79%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.88%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.31%, Asian Paints down by 1.21%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.07% and Kotak Mahindra Bank was down by 0.81% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in its latest report has said that telecom service providers' (TSPs) gross revenues declined by 1.36 percent on a year-on-year basis to Rs 67,300 crore in the July-September 2021 quarter (Q2FY22). Telecom service providers had posted gross revenues of Rs 68,228 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

The report stated that the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) component of the telecom operators, on which the government levies charges, increased by 17.07 per cent to Rs 53,510 crore during the reported quarter from Rs 45,707 crore in the corresponding period of 2020. Access service providers like Bharti Airtel, Jio and Vodafone Idea who provide services to end consumers accounted for 78 per cent of gross revenue and 79 per cent of AGR.

According to the report, the government's revenue from telecom services in the form of licence fees and spectrum usage charges (SUC) increased by 16.8 percent and 19.99 percent respectively on an annual basis. The government revenue collection in the form of licence fee was Rs 4,271 crore and SUC was Rs 1,741 crore during July-September 2021, compared to Rs 3,656 crore and Rs 1,451 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2020.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18042.55, up by 39.25 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 17964.40 and 18059.15. There were 23 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HCL Tech up by 3.90%, HDFC up by 1.48%, Reliance Industries up by 1.16%, Divi's Lab up by 1.10% and Grasim Industries was up by 0.92%. On the flip side, JSW Steel down by 2.22%, Tata Steel down by 1.88%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.34%, Asian Paints down by 1.11% and Bajaj Finance was down by 1.08% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed; KOSPI rose 0.66 points or 0.02% to 2,927.38, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 48.83 points or 0.27% to 18,288.21, Straits Times advanced 14.91 points or 0.46% to 3,241.96, Hang Seng increased 35.02 points or 0.15% to 23,781.56

On the other hand, Shanghai Composite declined 17.49 points or 0.49% to 3,576.03, Jakarta Composite lost 17.07 points or 0.26% to 6,674.05 and Nikkei 225 was down by 256.08 points or 0.9% to 28,222.48.

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