Following the lead of Asian counterparts, Indian equity indexes remained positive in the afternoon session ahead of the forthcoming budget, which will be announced on February 1, 2022. The Budget would provide the administration with a chance to clarify its long-term economic aims.

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On the global front, Asian stocks advanced with Hang Seng increased 252.18 points or 1.07% to 23,802.26, Straits Times advanced 3.26 points or 0.1% to 3,249.59, Jakarta Composite soared 2.91 points or 0.04% to 6,648.42 and Nikkei 225 was up by 284.64 points or 1.07% to 27,001.98.

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The Sensex is presently trading at 58220.37, up 1020.14 points or 1.78% from a low of 57746.15 and a high of 58223.89. On the index, 28 equities advanced while only two declined.

The broader indices were trading in green with the BSE Midcap index rising 1.53%, while the Small cap index was up by 1.01%. The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 2.98%, TECK up by 2.83%, Realty up by 2.77%, Energy up by 2.72%, Oil & Gas up by 2.46%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

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The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 4.68%, Infosys up by 3.58%, Wipro up by 3.40%, Dr Reddy’s Lab up by 2.96% and Bajaj Finserv was up by 2.96%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 3.15% and Kotak Mahindra Bank was down by 2.27% were the only losers.

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The Nifty is presently trading at 17399.20, up 297.25 points or 1.74% after ranging between 17264.15 and 17400.60. On the index, 47 equities advanced while only three declined.

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The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 4.70%, BPCL up by 3.79%, Infosys up by 3.53%, Wipro up by 3.40% and Dr Reddy’s Lab was up by 3.01%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank was down by 3.19%, Kotak Mahindra Bank was down by 2.28% and HDFC Life Insurance was down by 0.72% were the top losers.