India's NSE stock futures listed on the Singapore exchange were up 0.22% at 18,068.50, as of 7:40 a.m. IST.
China announced it will stop requiring inbound travellers to go into quarantine from Jan. 8. COVID-19 management will also be downgraded to the less strict Category B from the stringent Category-A, the country's health authority added on Monday, raising hopes of demand recovery in the world's second-largest economy.
The announcement triggered an uptick in Asian markets. The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index rose 0.59%.
U.S. markets remained shut on Monday for Christmas.
Capping the gains in domestic equities could be oil prices, which rose in thin trade on fears of supply disruption due to winter storms across the United States. Brent crude rose above $84 per barrel while Nymex crude jumped above $80 per barrel.
Higher oil prices hurt oil-importing countries like India, where crude constitutes the bulk of the country's import bill.
Foreign institutional investors sold 4.98 billion rupees ($60.25 million) worth of equities on a net basis on Monday, while domestic investors bought about 12.86 billion rupees ($155.60 million) worth of shares, as per provisional NSE data.
Stocks To Watch:
** NTPC: Co signed an MoU with Tecnimont to explore green methanol production.
** Time Technoplast: Co received a repeat order worth 750 mln rupees from Adani Total Gas for the supply of CNG Cascades.
** HEG: Co incorporated a subsidiary TACC for manufacturing graphite anode for lithium-ion cells.
** Spicejet: Shareholders approved the reappointment of Ajay Singh as director.
($1 = 82.6500 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
