Indian share markets continued to trade dull in the afternoon session. At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex remained unchanged. While, the NSE Nifty finished higher by 7 points. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Midcap Index and S&P BSE Small Cap Index both ended down by 0.6% respectively.

Barring metal stocks, power stocks and automobile stocks, all the stocks ended the day in red. Stocks from realty sector and healthcare sector witnesses maximum selling pressure.

Overseas, Asian stock markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Hang Seng gained 1.99% and the Shanghai Composite rose 1.24%. European markets are lower today with shares in Germany off the most. The DAX is down 0.71% while France’s CAC 40 is off 0.43% and London’s FTSE 100 is lower by 0.30%.

The rupee was trading at Rs 63.67 against the US$ in the afternoon session.

Tata Motors share price surged over 3% after its domestic commercial vehicle and passenger vehicle sales rose 52% to 54,627 units in December. Domestic commercial vehicle sales increased 62% to 40,447 units.

Meanwhile, Ashok Leyland has reported a 79.4% jump in total sales at 19,253 units in December 2017. The company had sold 10,731 units in the same month last year. The stock price surged 3.6% today.

In the news from the economy. Extending the trend of growth, manufacturing activity in India accelerated at a swift pace in the month of December to hit 5 year high. This came on the back of improved operating conditions and strong production.

The substantial inflow of new orders too underpinned the expansion in manufacturing sector. However, Goods and Services Tax (GST) continued to exert upward pressure on manufacturers’ cost burdens in December.

Reportedly, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)-a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance- rose to 54.7 in December from 52.6 in November, indicating a healthy growth in manufacturing sector since December 2012.