Indian share markets saw volatile trading activity throughout the day today and ended marginally lower.
At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 58 points (down 0.2%). The NSE Nifty closed lower by 29 points (down 0.3%).
The SGX Nifty was trading at 11,125, down by 40 points at the time of writing.
The BSE Mid Cap index ended up by 0.2%. The BSE Small Cap index ended down by 0.2%. On the sectoral front, losses were largely seen in the IT sector and the auto sector.
Asian markets ended on a mixed note. As of the most recent closing prices, the Hang Seng ended down by 2.3% and the Shanghai Composite stood higher by 0.4%. The Nikkei ended down by 0.6%.
The rupee was trading at 74.62 against the US$.
Hindustan Zinc was among top buzzing stocks today as the company reported a 23% year-on-year (YoY) fall in net profit for the first quarter of FY21 at Rs 13.5 billion. Net revenue in Q1 stood at Rs 39.8 billion, a decline of 20% YoY due to a 29% fall in Zinc LME prices, and an 11% fall in Lead LME prices and COVID-19 impacted lower volumes.
Domestic gold prices hit a record high today. The active gold contract on MCX hit a record high of Rs 50,020 per 10 grams in morning trade as investment demand for precious metal rose amid uncertainty around the global pandemic and the US-China trade war.
Investors in India are also seen flocking to sovereign gold bonds, which in the fourth tranche saw over 4 tonnes of gold equivalent being subscribed. Gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) are also witnessing increased buying interest with the net inflow in June being at Rs 4.9 billion while net assets under management (AUM) as on June end were at Rs 108.5 billion.
Gold in India tracks the international rate as India imports almost the whole of its gold requirement. International gold prices are away from the record high of US$ 1,911 an ounce hit in August 2011. However, the rupee price of the precious metal is at a record high because of the weakening of rupee to the dollar over the years.
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.
So, is this the right time to buy gold or silver?
In news from the insurance sector, HDFC Life Insurance Company's capital raising committee (CRC) will meet on Thursday, July 23, to mull fundraising of up to Rs 6 billion via issuance of debentures.
HDFC Life Insurance in a regulatory filing said that the CRC of the board of directors will meet to approve the said borrowing plan.
The CRC will consider and approve the proposed issuance of up to 6,000 unsecured, rated, listed, subordinated, redeemable, non-convertible fully paid-up debentures of the aggregate nominal value of up to Rs 6 billion, each of which will be having a face value of Rs 1 million.
The private sector life insurer also said it will raise the money in one or more tranches, on a private placement basis which will be subject to receipt of the regulatory and other approvals.
How this development pans out remains to be seen. Stay tuned to get all the updates to form this space.
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