Asian markets traded mixed on Monday ahead of China's factory activity data.

US stock market ended lower on Friday as investors viewed President Donald Trump's nomination of former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh as a hawkish choice.

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

Source: Equitymaster

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading 325 points higher, and the NSE Nifty is trading 64 points higher.

Adani Ports, Asian Paints, Bharat Elec are among the top gainers today.

Trent, ITC, and HUL the other hand, are among the top losers today.

The BSE Midcap index is trading 1.3% lower, and the BSE Smallcap index is trading 0.9% lower.

Sectoral indices are trading negatively today, with the metal sector and banking sector witnessing selling pressure. Meanwhile, stocks in the power sector and the services sector witnessed buying.

The rupee is trading at Rs 90 against the US dollar.
 

MOIL Raises Manganese Ore Prices By 5%

State-owned MOIL Ltd said on Sunday, 1 February 2026, that it has revised the prices of various manganese ore grades for February 2026, effective from 1 February 2026, as part of the January-March 2026 quarter.

The company has increased prices by 5% for most manganese ore categories compared to January 2026 levels. Prices of all Ferro grades with manganese content of 44% and above have been raised by 5%. Ferro grades with manganese content below 44% have also seen a 5% hike, except for grade BG4584, whose price remains unchanged.

Prices of SMGR (Mn-30%) and Fines grades have increased by 5%, while prices of SMGR (Mn-25%) and SMGR (Mn-20%) grades will continue at January 2026 levels. Prices of all Chemical grades have also been raised by 5% for February.

For Metal Mandi Fines, prices of DBF575 and MSF592 remain unchanged, while prices of UKF532 have increased by 10% compared to January.

MOIL also said the basic price of Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide (EMD) has been kept unchanged at Rs 1,90,000 per metric tonne for February 2026. All revised and continued prices will be effective from midnight on 31 January to 1 February 2026.
 

Data Centre, AI Stocks in Focus After Budget Tax Break

Shares of data centre and AI-related companies rose in early trading on Sunday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a long-term tax benefit in the Union Budget 2026.

The finance minister said the government will give a tax holiday until 2047 to foreign companies that provide cloud services globally using data centres located in India. However, these companies must offer services to Indian customers through Indian resellers, ensuring local participation in the cloud ecosystem.

The announcement is seen as a strong policy support for the data centre and AI sector. It benefits companies involved in building data centres, providing cloud infrastructure, and supplying high-performance computing equipment.

India has already been seeing growing interest in data centre investments due to rising demand for cloud services, data localization rules, and increased use of AI across industries.

The long-term tax incentive offers clarity and stability for data centre projects, which require large upfront investments and take years to become profitable. This could encourage global cloud companies to expand their data centre capacity in India faster.
 

Hero MotoCorp Posts Strong January Growth

Hero MotoCorp shares came into focus after the company reported its monthly sales numbers.

In January 2026, the company dispatched 557,871 vehicles, a strong growth of about 26% compared to 442,873 units in January 2025. Retail sales were also healthy, with 491,986 vehicles registered on VAHAN, showing good demand across markets.

Growth during the month was supported by a strong product lineup. The scooter segment performed particularly well, driven by rising demand for models such as Xoom and Destini. The motorcycle range also saw good traction.

Hero MotoCorp's electric vehicle brand VIDA continued to gain momentum. It recorded around 13,000 VAHAN registrations in January 2026, marking a 21% month-on-month increase. Demand for the VIDA VX2, along with an expanding retail network and strong bookings, supported this growth.

The company's global business also remained strong. Dispatches from international markets rose by about 24% to 37,663 units in January 2026, compared to 30,495 units a year ago, helped by good demand for its premium products.

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