Asian markets extended their gains for a third straight session on Tuesday, tracking strong overnight momentum on Wall Street and reinforcing expectations that a year-end rally is gathering pace.

Stocks on Wall Street advanced on Monday, kicking off what is expected to be a relatively quiet holiday-shortened week, with gains spread across sectors.

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

Source: Equitymaster

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading 56 points lower, and the NSE Nifty is trading 9 points higher.

Power Grid Corp, Bajaj Finance, and Tata Steel are among the top gainers today.

Infosys, Bharti Airtel, and TCS, on the other hand, are among the top losers today.

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

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

The rupee is trading at Rs 89.7 against the US dollar.
 

HCL Software to Acquire AI Analytics Startup

HCLSoftware, which is the software products division of HCLTech, has announced that it plans to acquire Wobby, a young startup based in Antwerp, Belgium.

Wobby builds AI-powered "Data Analyst" tools that help users analyze data stored in data warehouses. These AI agents allow people to ask questions in plain language and get quick, useful business insights without needing technical expertise.

HCLSoftware's Data & AI division, Actian, has been growing steadily over the past five years. Its tools for data management, data governance, and data catalogs are seeing strong demand from enterprises. By adding Wobby's AI analyst technology, Actian will make it easier for customers to interact with their data and get accurate insights faster.

Wobby's technology uses a smart semantic layer and AI agents that understand business context, automate complex analysis, and deliver reliable results at scale. This fits well with Actian's existing data intelligence and knowledge graph capabilities.

The acquisition is expected to be completed by February 2026.
 

Welspun Corp Raises Stake in Subsidiary

Welspun Corp Limited has increased its ownership of its subsidiary, Welspun Specialty Solutions Limited (WSSL), by buying more shares.

The company acquired an additional 4.11% stake in WSSL for Rs 1.08 billion (bn), taking its total shareholding from 51.06% to 55.17%.

As part of this transaction, Welspun Corp purchased 2,72,39,744 equity shares of WSSL. The shares were bought from existing promoter group entities, meaning the ownership remained within the Welspun Group.

The shares were acquired from promoter group companies, including MGN Argo Properties Private Limited and Welspun Group Master Trust, both of which were already part of WSSL's promoter group.
 

With this acquisition, Welspun Corp has strengthened its control and strategic position in Welspun Specialty Solutions Limited.
 

Ambuja Cements to Merge ACC, Orient

Ambuja Cements, part of the Gautam Adani-led Adani Group, announced that it will merge its subsidiaries ACC Ltd and Orient Cement to create a single, pan-India cement business.

After the merger, ACC, Orient Cement, Penna Cement, and Sanghi Industries will become part of Ambuja, giving it a total production capacity of 107 million tonnes per year.

The board approved the merger to improve efficiency, streamline manufacturing and logistics, use capital better, boost profits, expand capacity, and increase long-term returns for shareholders.

Under the merger plan, ACC shareholders will receive 328 Ambuja Cements shares (Rs 2 face value each) for every 100 ACC shares (Rs 10 face value each). Similarly, Orient Cement shareholders will get 33 Ambuja Cements shares (Rs 2 face value each) for every 100 Orient Cement shares (Rs1 face value each).

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