Share markets in India continued to trade above the dotted line in the afternoon session ahead of a central bank policy meeting this week. At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex closed higher by 36 points. While the NSE Nifty finished higher by 22 points. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Midcap finished up by 0.2% while the S&P BSE Small Cap Index ended up by 0.7%.

Among BSE sectoral indices, consumer durables stocks gained over 6%, followed by the realty stocks up 1%%. While, metal stocks witnessed maximum selling pressure.

Asian equity markets closed mostly lower today following an attack in central London and as oil prices gained sharply after four countries snapped diplomatic ties with Qatar. The Shanghai Composite ended down 0.45% while Hang Seng slipped 0.24% and Nikkei 225 finished lower by 0.03%. European markets are mixed. The DAX is higher by 1.65%, while the CAC 40 is leading the FTSE 100 lower. They are down 0.55% and 0.21% respectively.

The rupee was trading at Rs 64.35 against the US$ in the afternoon session. Oil prices were trading at US$ 47.88 at the time of writing.

Coal India share price fell by 1.7% after it was reported that the government’s policy think-tank NITI Aayog decided to break up the seven subsidiaries of Coal India after stalling it for past two years.

NITI Aayog suggested coal mining should be based on competition leading to the determination of the fossil fuel’s market price.

TCS share price rose over 1.5% as the company applied for only a third of the H-1B work visas this year compared to 2015, helped by increased hiring from engineering campuses and B-schools in the US.

The move comes at a time when the Indian IT companies are confronted by closer scrutiny and tighter visa norms in the US.

In another development, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council cleared the pending decision to impose GST rates on Gold. The council has decided to impose GST tax rate of 3% on Gold, Silver, and processed Diamonds.