It was indeed a volatile trading day for share markets in India today.
After staging a gap-up opening, Indian share markets reversed gains and slipped into the red in the afternoon session, plunging sharply and wiping all morning gains after European share markets opened lower.
All major European share markets are trading lower, as the EU and UK are racing towards an ugly divorce and countries have started enforcing stringent curbs as virus cases have also picked up.
The BSE Sensex fell over 600 points from the day's high on the back of the above news. Later on, Sensex recovered all losses during the last hour of trading, led by gains in banking and metal stocks.
At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 163 points (up 0.4%).
The NSE Nifty closed higher by 41 points (up 0.3%).
Power Grid and Bharti Airtel were among the top gainers today.
The SGX Nifty was trading at 11,910, up by 14 points, at the time of writing.
The BSE Mid Cap index ended up by 0.2%. The BSE Small Cap index ended on a flat note.
On the sectoral front, gains were largely seen in the metal sector and realty sector.
Energy stocks, on the other hand, witnessed selling pressure.
Asian stock markets ended on a positive note. As of the most recent closing prices, the Hang Seng ended up by 0.8% and the Shanghai Composite ended down by 0.1%. The Nikkei gained 0.3%.
US stock futures are trading on a flat note. Nasdaq Futures are trading up by 13 points (up 0.1%), while Dow Futures are trading up by 27 points (up 0.1%).
The rupee was trading at 73.58 against the US$.
Gold prices are trading up by 0.5% at Rs 51,149 per 10 grams.
Domestic gold prices edged higher today, extending gains to the third day on signs that US lawmakers could agree on a new stimulus package before the November 3 election.
In global markets, gold rates edged higher on renewed hopes of a US stimulus package. Gold was also supported by a weak US dollar.
Speaking of the precious yellow metal, how lucrative has gold been as a long-term investment in India?
The chart below shows the annual returns on gold over the last 15 years...
As you can see, barring just two years - 2013 and 2015, gold has delivered positive returns in 13 of the last 15 years.
The recent price volatility in the bullion market has rattled many traders. Even with the recent volatility in prices, gold remains among the best-performing commodities this year to combat the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
In news from the IT sector, Newgen Software was among the top buzzing stocks today.
Shares of the company zoomed 20% intraday today to hit its 52-week high on the BSE after reporting a robust set of July-September quarter (Q2FY21) numbers.
The company's consolidated net profit jumped seven-fold at Rs 292 million in the quarter under review, despite reporting flat operational revenue at Rs 1.6 million over the previous year quarter.
The IT consulting & software company had a profit of Rs 42 million in Q2FY20.
EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) margin improved to 26.5% from 5.9% due to strong cost rationalization initiatives are undertaken by the company.
The company said it posted a strong performance with demand uptick from its existing customers, along with 17 interesting new logo acquisitions.
Newgen Software share price ended the day up by 9.2%.
Moving on, as per a leading financial daily, LIC has increased stakes in Lupin, Alkem Laboratories, and Pfizer in Q2.
Data showed that India's biggest institutional investor, LIC also hiked stake in IT firm Mphasis to 2.1% from 2% on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
From the auto sector, LIC bought additional shares in Amara Raja Batteries, Ashok Leyland, Bosch, Exide Industries, Hero MotoCorp, and TVS Motor Company ahead of the festive season.
During the September quarter, the insurer also purchased additional shares in beaten-down banking and finance names like State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC Bank, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Central Bank of India, IndusInd Bank, Bandhan Bank and Yes Bank.
In August, Yes Bank had said LIC acquired close to 5% shareholding in it by purchasing shares from the open market. With the fresh acquisition, LIC's holding in the lender has increased from 1.6% to 5%.
LIC increased its shareholding in Kotak Mahindra Bank to 3.2% from 2.5%.
From the metal sector, LIC added the JSW Steel and Steel Authority of India.
LIC also bought high dividend yield stocks of IOC, Power Grid, Oil India, ONGC, Moil, Mahanagar Gas, and IGL.
Some of the other purchases of LIC during the September quarter included Bata India, Berger Paints, Titan, UltraTech Cement, and HUL.
Initial shareholding data available till October 19 showed the insurer raised its stakes in at least 55 companies between July and September.
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