Asian stocks were on track for their strongest annual performance in six years, buoyed by interest-rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve and a wave of enthusiasm around artificial intelligence-linked companies.

Stocks fell slightly on Wall Street on Tuesday as trading for 2025 nudges closer to the finish line.

Here's a table showing how US stocks performed on Tuesday:

Source: Equitymaster

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading 97 points higher, and the NSE Nifty is trading 46 points higher.

Tata Steel, Titan Company, Bharat Elec are among the top gainers today.

Bajaj Finance, TCS, and Eternal, on the other hand, are among the top losers today.

The BSE Midcap index is trading 0.1% higher, and the BSE Smallcap index is trading 0.5% higher.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed today, with stocks in oil & gas and metal witnessing buying. Meanwhile, stocks in realty sector and the IT sector witnessed selling pressure.

The rupee is trading at Rs 89.8 against the US dollar.

RITES Wins Overseas Locomotive Supply Contract

Infrastructure, consultancy, and engineering firm RITES Ltd announced that it has received a letter of award from Berhard Development Corporation (Private) Ltd, Zimbabwe, for the supply of in-service cape gauge diesel electric locomotives, valued at around Rs 0.3 billion (bn). The contract is expected to be carried out over a period of three months.

Earlier this month, RITES signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Botswana to collaborate on the development and modernization of the country's railway and transport infrastructure.

The MoU was signed in Gurugram on 19 December 2025, with Botswana represented by its Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. The partnership aims to support the growth of Botswana's transport sector by adopting advanced technologies, best practices, and capacity-building initiatives to improve efficiency, safety, and reliability.
 

Bharat Forge Bags Major Defence Arms Deal

Bharat Forge shares are likely to be in focus after the company signed its largest-ever small arms contract with the Ministry of Defence on Tuesday, December 30. The contract is valued at Rs 16.62 bn and involves the supply of 255,128 CQB carbines to the Indian Army over a period of five years.

The 5.56 x 45 mm CQB Carbine is a compact firearm that has been designed, developed, and manufactured in India.

It was jointly developed by DRDO's Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE) and Bharat Forge in Pune.

The company said the contract supports the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, as it focuses on supplying indigenously made defence equipment to the Indian Armed Forces through Bharat Forge and its defence subsidiary, Kalyani Strategic Systems Limited.
 

Power Grid Corp Secures Andhra Pradesh Battery Project

Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID) has won a contract to set up a large Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project in Andhra Pradesh.

The project, awarded under the Build-Own-Operate (BOO) model with financial support from the Power System Development Fund (PSDF), will involve installing a 150 MW / 300 MWh standalone battery system at the 400/220 kV substation in Kalikiri, Chittoor District.

This is part of a larger plan to build 2,000 MWh (1,000 MW × 2 hours) of battery storage across selected APTRANSCO substations to ensure energy is available when needed.

The initiative will help strengthen India's energy transition and improve grid stability by adding large-scale battery storage solutions.

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