India's services sector growth rose to a 4-month high in December as robust demand boosted business activity with strong job creation taking place during the month, according to a survey released on Monday.

The HSBC India Services Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by S&P Global, increased to 59.3 in December from 58.4 in November, which is the highest level since August.

Strong underlying demand was identified by companies as the primary factor behind output growth in the services sector. In some instances, survey members indicated that recent efforts to expand capacities allowed them to accept more work.

The Indian stock market turned red in the afternoon trading session on Monday after opening in the green.

Both the benchmark indices fell by more than 1 per cent.

All sectoral indices were trading in the red. Nifty PSU Bank was trading in the red with a decline of more than 3 per cent.

Auto, metal, reality and media sectors were down by more than 2 per cent.

At around 12:00 pm, the Sensex was trading at 77,979.54 after declining 1,243.57 points or 1.57 per cent, while Nifty was trading at 23,607.35 after declining 397.40 points or 1.66 per cent.

On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 291 stocks were trading in the green, while 2,221 stocks were in the red.

Nifty Bank was down 930.85 points or 1.83 per cent at 50,057.95.

A five-decade-old commercial building near the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Chandigarh's Sector 17, which had been declared unsafe earlier, collapsed on Monday morning.

However, there was no causality in the building collapse located in the heart of the city.

Eyewitnesses said the building collapsed at around 7 a.m. The adjoining building, which was once running the famed Mehfil restaurant, has also developed cracks and is partially damaged by the caving-in of the building.

Police and fire brigade teams have arrived at the spot.

The local administration had earlier declared the building unsafe and sealed it.

South Korea has confirmed its 20th case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) for this winter season at an egg farm in Gyeonggi Province, authorities said on Monday.

The city government noted that the latest case was reported from a layer poultry farm in Yeoju, about 65 kilometers east of Seoul on Saturday, news agency reported.

It marks the 20th highly pathogenic AI case reported across the country in the winter season.

Authorities have contained the area and culled some 104,000 chickens raised at the farm, as well as another 52,000 chicks at a broiler farm nearby as part of preventative measures.

The last such case, detected on December 31, was confirmed from an egg farm in the country's central region of North Chungcheong Province.

Amid the growing popularity, South Korea's exports of cosmetic products exceeded $10 billion last year, marking a significant milestone for the K-beauty industry, government data showed on Monday.

The combined shipments of cosmetic products jumped 20.6 percent on-year to an all-time high of $10.2 billion in 2024, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said in a press release, reports news agency.

The record result was helped by the growing popularity of Korean cultural content, such as K-pop and K-dramas, it added.

By country, China was the biggest importer of South Korean cosmetics, with purchases worth $2.5 billion, followed by the United States with $1.9 billion and Japan with $1 billion.

"The government will strengthen cooperation with trading partner countries to help local firms continue the growth of cosmetic exports while helping them meet safety standards in the U.S. and China," Food Minister Oh Yu-Kyoung said in the release.

Samsung Electronics will propose Home AI, a hyper-personalised solution combining cutting-edge artificial intelligence and enhanced connectivity, at CES 2025 in the US.

The South Korean tech giant will run a 3,368-square-meter showroom at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the largest among corporate participants at the annual tech show that will run from Tuesday to Friday.

The exhibit, themed "AI for All," will focus on showcasing the company's latest AI technologies and SmartThings connectivity for homes, providing solutions for a more personalised AI experience that reflects diversified lifestyles, reports news agency.

The exhibit will demonstrate how Home AI customses living spaces for families by analysing data collected through the SmartThings platform integrated into a wide range of Samsung products, from washing machines and TVs to laptops and smartphones.

Samsung Electronics also envisions extending this connected experience beyond homes to vehicles, ships and commercial spaces.

The domestic benchmark indices opened higher on Monday as buying was seen in the IT and auto sectors.

At around 9.32 am, Sensex was trading at 79,470.61 after rising 247.50 points or 0.31 per cent, while Nifty was trading at 24,065 after gaining 60.25 points or 0.25 per cent.

On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 678 stocks were trading in green, while 1,302 stocks were in red.

Nifty Bank was down 139.60 points or 0.27 per cent at 50,849.20. Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 57,823.65 after dropping 107.40 points or 0.19 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 18,949.75 after declining 83.95 points or 0.44 per cent.

According to market experts, domestically, the December auto numbers indicate that the much talked about urban demand deceleration is exaggerated.

“Buying will resume in these resilient domestic segments, supporting the market on declines,” they said, adding that given the current market setup, traders are advised to consider buying on dips as long as the index holds above 24,000, with 23,800 as a closing-basis stop-loss to manage risks effectively.

Israeli researchers have discovered a unique mechanism in marine bacteria that protects them from virus attacks, the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) said in a statement.

A new study published in Nature Microbiology focused on the battle between bacteria and phages, viruses that infect bacteria. This constant struggle leads to the mutual evolution of these two populations in marine environments, news agency reported.

In some areas, viral infections drastically reduce large bacterial populations, and without resistance mechanisms, the bacteria would be wiped out.

The study revealed that bacteria use a passive defence mechanism against viruses, involving extremely low doses of molecules in protein creation during genetic translation.

Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor was arrested by the Patna Police on Monday for staging a sit-in in an unauthorised location in Gandhi Maidan, according to an official.

After the arrest, a medical examination was conducted, and Kishor will be presented in court, Patna SSP Awakash Kumar told.

"Prashant Kishore of Jan Suraaj Party and some other people were illegally protesting in front of Gandhi statue in the restricted area of Gandhi Maidan for their five-point demands," SSP Kumar said.

He also informed that the administration had earlier issued a notice to Kishor and other protestors to move from the unauthorised area of Gandhi Maidan to the designated place of protest, Gardnibagh.

Delhi will experience a mix of weather patterns over the coming week. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert, forecasting light rain in the national capital during the early hours of Monday.

According to the IMD, from January 6 to 10, residents can expect temperatures ranging between 7 degrees Celcius and 18 degrees Celcius. Moderate to dense fog is predicted from January 7 to 9, while thundershowers may also occur around January 11. Cloudy skies are expected throughout the period.