Indian share markets witnessed positive trading activity throughout the day today and ended higher.

Benchmark indices were trading higher in today's session, tracking firm cues from global peers, even as India continued to report over 3 lakh COVID-19 cases.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 508 points (up 1.1%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 144 points (up 1%).

Axis Bank and ICICI Bank were among the top gainers today.

Cipla and Britannia, on the other hand, were the top loser today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 14,493, up by 153 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE Mid Cap index and BSE Small Cap index ended higher by 0.6% and 0.9%, respectively.

Sectoral indices ended on a positive note with stocks in the realty sector, metal sector and banking sector witnessed most of the buying interest.

Healthcare sector stocks, on the other hand, witnessed selling pressure.

Shares of SAIL and Rain Industries hit their 52-week highs today.

Asian stock markets ended on a mixed note today.

The Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite ended the day down by 0.4% and 1%, respectively.

The Nikkei reversed early losses and ended up by 0.4% in today's session.

US stock futures are trading on a flat note today with the Dow Jones Futures trading up by 13 points.

The rupee is trading at 74.74 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading down by 0.2% at Rs 47,420 per 10 grams.

Nifty and bitcoin have been very volatile in recent weeks. In the video, Brijesh explains why he is expecting the bearish momentum to end soon.

Bitcoin falling off the cliff on political drama is likely to take a pause in the zone of US$ 45,000 - US$ 46,000 as the support is placed with the Fibonacci time cycle.

Here are Top 4 Factors Why the Stock Market Were Up Today:

Positive Macro Data: Risk appetite was whetted by early April manufacturing activity indicators out last week, which pointed to a robust start to the second quarter with record highs in the US markets, signaling an end to Europe's double-dip recession.

Positive Global Cues: Major global markets rose today and the positive sentiment spilled to the Indian bourses too.

US stock market finished session higher on Friday, 23 April 2021, as fresh economic data underscored that a strong economic recovery is underway.

Asian markets were trading higher today ahead of big earnings week on Wall Street.

Supply of Oxygen Ramps Up: As the coronavirus pandemic rages, India's healthcare system is near breaking point, with thousands of critically sick people failing to secure treatment and hospitals turning away patients, unable to provide critical oxygen supplies.

Companies ranging from steelmakers to refiners to logistics firms are extending a helping hand by retooling their processes to produce oxygen for the sick or transporting medical equipment as supplies at hospitals dwindle.

Sectoral Gains: Market participants bought shares across the board after the recent correction bought valuations down. Realty, metal, banking, financials, and consumer durables- all indices witnessed strong gains today.

We will keep you updated on how these factors develop in the coming days and what effect they have on Indian stock markets. Stay tuned!

In news from the IT sector...

Mphasis was among the top buzzing stocks today.

Blackstone to Acquire Controlling Stake in Mphasis

Shares of Mphasis jumped 6% in today's trading session after private equity funds managed by Blackstone entered into definitive agreements to acquire a majority stake in the IT firm.

Private equity player Blackstone will acquire a majority stake in Mphasis for US$ 2.8 billion. A wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), UC Investments, and other long-term investors will co-invest along with Blackstone.

The transaction triggered an open offer for the acquisition of up to 26% stake at a price of Rs 1,677.2 per share, aggregating Rs 82.6 billion, payable in cash.

Based on the open offer subscription, the blended purchase price is expected to be Rs 1,452-Rs 1,497 per share.

This would be a 12-16 % premium to the 12-month average price and a 3-6% discount to the 6-month average price. Overall, the purchase consideration will vary between Rs 152 billion to Rs 210 billion.

Back in September 2016, a different fund managed by Blackstone had acquired a controlling stake in Mphasis from Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

The company's CEO, Nitin Rakesh said, "We are gratified to continue our partnership with Blackstone, both as a leading investor as well as our client. We believe Blackstone's sustained strategic partnership will help the company accelerate its growth and scale new heights. Sovereign and pension funds co-investing is a testimony of long-term commitment and a vote of confidence of a marquee set of shareholders".

Mphasis is a provider of IT services specializing in cloud and digital solutions. It has deep domain expertise in the banking, financial services, and insurance sectors (BFSI) and serves 35 of the top 50 US BFSI firms.

Mphasis is witnessing strong momentum on new business wins and has delivered its highest-ever quarterly Total Contract Value (TCV) wins in each of the last three quarters.

Direct TCV wins have increased 64% year-on-year (YoY) for the nine-month period ending 31 December 2020.

Note that the sale is expected to conclude in the coming months, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Mphasis share price ended the day up by 1.6% on the BSE.

How this development pans out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on all the news from this space. Stay tuned!

Moving on to news from the media sector...

Hathway Cable Surged 3% as Reliance Industries Initiates Offer for Sale

Reliance Industries(RIL) will once again offload a stake in Hathway Cable through offers for sale (OFS) to comply with the stock market regulator's minimum public holding norms.

The OFS by India's most valuable company will open for non-retail investors today and for retail buyers on Tuesday, 27 April 2021.

As per the disclosure by Hathway Cable, RIL intended to launch the OFS worth Rs 4.4 billion to offload 205.4 million shares, or 11.6%, at a floor price of Rs 21.5 per share.

Promoter group firms that will sell shares include Jio content distribution holdings, Jio internet distribution holdings, and Jio cable and broadband holdings.

This is the second OFS by Reliance Industries in Hathway Cable. RIL has been slowly bringing down its stake in Hathway Cable, trimming its shareholding from 94.1% in the quarter ended 31 December 2020 to 86.6% in the three months ended 31 March 2021.

According to the latest shareholding pattern, promoters held 86.6%, and post this transaction, the holding will come down to 75%.

The OFS comes soon after RIL decided against going ahead with the merger of Hathway Cable, Den Networks, and TV18 Broadcast into Network18, a year after announcing the transaction. A delay in implementation was among the reasons for the cancellation of the merger.

Hathway Cable was acquired in October 2018 by Reliance.

Hathway Cable's share price ended the day up by 1.9% on the BSE.

How this pans out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on all the news from this space.

Speaking of the ongoing volatility in Indian stock markets, have a look at the two charts below, in the order, they have been placed:

Near Term Volatility in Sensex Compensated by Long Term Gains

The year-on-year change in the Sensex was hardly predictable but someone who stayed invested multiplied every lakh nearly 14 times.