Photo by Onkarphoto on Unsplash

Indian share markets witnessed positive trading activity throughout the day today and ended on a strong note.

Benchmark indices followed global peers' footsteps and sharply recouped previous session's losses as global investors pinned hopes on Russia-Ukraine talks for de-escalation of the war amid easing of crude oil prices.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 1,040 points (up 1.9%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 312 points (up 1.9%).

UltraTech Cement and Axis Bank were among the top gainers today.

Cipla and Sun Pharma, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 17,004, up by 352 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index ended up by 1.8% and 1.5%, respectively.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the realty sector, metal sector and oil & gas sector witnessing buying interest.

Shares of Bharat Dynamics and JK Paper hit their respective 52-week highs today.

US stock futures are trading on a strong note today with the Dow Futures trading up by 360 points.

The rupee is trading at 76.26 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading down by 0.2% at Rs 51,463 per 10 grams.

In news from the paper sector, paper stocks were in focus today after manufacturers raised prices following shortage of wastepaper amid an uptick in demand.

Prices of wastepaper, a critical raw material for recycled paper, have shot up in the past few months as many offices, courts, and schools remained shut for almost two years on account of the pandemic, leading to lower collections.

As schools, colleges, offices, and courts reopen, there's likely to be an uptick in demand.

Experts are suggesting that JK Paper, West Coast Paper, and Andhra Paper could be beneficiaries as they have in house supply of raw materials and use wood pulp as a key input.

Speaking of paper stocks, ace chartist at Equitymaster Brijesh Bhatia saw this opportunity and published an article yesterday.

Brijesh highlighted how most paper stocks have broken out from their consolidation zones.

You can read the article here: Why Paper Stocks are Rising.

Moving on to news from the telecom sector...

Tata Communication Jumps After Collaboration with Formula 1

Tata Communications rose 5% on the BSE after the company announced a multi-year strategic collaboration with Formula 1.

Under the collaboration, Tata Communications will function as the official broadcast connectivity provider of Formula 1.

Following the introduction of Formula 1's remote broadcast operations in 2020, Tata Communications has allowed reduction in the organisation's travelling freight by 34%.

Formula 1 racing began in 1950 and is the world's most prestigious motor racing competition, as well as the world's most popular annual sporting series.

Tata Communication share price ended the day up by 4.5% on the BSE.