Indian share markets continued their volatile trend during closing hours today and ended their day on a flat note.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 35 points (up 0.1%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 18 points (up 0.1%).

GAIL and UPL were among the top gainers today.

IndusInd Bank was among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 14,969, up by 15 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE Mid Cap index ended up by 0.3%. The BSE Small Cap index ended up by 0.6%.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note. Gains were largely seen in the capital goods sector and energy sector.

Asian share markets ended on a negative note.

The Nikkei was down 0.4% while the Shanghai Composite stood lower by 2.3%. The Hang Seng ended down by 1.9%.

US stock futures are trading lower today indicating a negative opening for Wall Street indices with Dow Futures trading down by 76 points (down 0.3%).

The rupee is trading at 73.24 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading down by 0.6% at Rs 44,403 per 10 grams.

Moving on to stock-specific news...

Vivimed Labs was among the top buzzing stocks today.

Drug firm Vivimed Labs said it has received approval from the Uzbekistan government for two products.

The company has received approval for Bilastin tablets, which are used for the treatment of allergic Rhino conjunctivitis and Urticaria, the Hyderabad-based company said in a regulatory filing.

Vivimed has also received approval for Orzole combi, which is used to treat gastrointestinal infections such as acute diarrhea or dysentery, gynecological, lung, and urinary infections.

Vivimed Labs CEO Ramesh Krishnamurthy said the company's strategy is to increase its share of branded products in CIS markets. Vivimed shall be launching these products this year and the company's purpose is to offer innovative and top-quality formulations at affordable prices.

In news from the defense sector...

BEML share price was in focus today as companies such as Tata Motors, Mahindra, Ashok Leyland, Bharat Forge Ltd, and Megha Engineering are likely to submit expressions of interest for the government's stake in BEML.

The government has invited expressions of interest to offload 26% out of its 54.03% stake in the state-run defense and construction equipment manufacturer.

The stake sale will also lead to the transfer of management control to the successful bidder.

Speaking of the defense sector, have a look at the chart below which shows the top 5 military spending countries in the world as of 2019:

According to a SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) report, India was the third-largest military spending country in the world in 2019.

Back in June 2020, she recorded a video about India's best defense stocks.

In news from the IT space...

Wipro's share price was also in focus today on the back of news that the company, in its biggest acquisition so far, has signed an agreement to buy London-based Capco, a global management and technology consultancy, for US$ 1.45 billion.

Capco provides digital, consulting, and technology services to financial institutions in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia Pacific.

The deal is an all-cash one and will be funded through internal accruals and debt. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the June quarter.

Rishad Premji, chairman, Wipro, said, "With this deal, we are joining select service providers that bring end-to-end consultative, digital cloud, and IT-driven solutions at scale to our customers. This deal will bring scale to Wipro's BFSI (banking financial services, and insurance) play."

The company said this acquisition would make Wipro one of the largest end-to-end global consulting, technology, and transformation service providers to the banking and financial services industry.

It will add revenues of US$ 700 million and will see 5,000 technology and business consultants joining Wipro.

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

In the latest developments from the IPO space...

Delhi-based online travel agency Easy Trip Planners has kicked off its Rs 5.1-billion initial public offering (IPO) for a subscription today.

The online travel company on Friday raised a little over Rs 2.2 billion from anchor investors, ahead of its initial share-sale.

A total of 1,22,72,727 shares have been allocated to 35 anchor investors at Rs 187 per share, which is the upper end of the price band.

Among the investors that have been allocated shares are HSBC Global Investment Funds, Nomura Funds Ireland Public Limited Company, Tata Trustee Company, Aditya Birla Sunlife Insurance Company, Sundaram Mutual Fund, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company, and Nippon Life India Trustee Company.

The issue closes for subscription on March 10, 2021.

The company aims to raise Rs 5.1 billion through its public issue which is a complete offer-for-sale (OFS). Promoters Nishant Pittie and Rikant Pittie, holding 49.8% and 49.7% respectively in the company, will sell up to Rs 2.5 billion worth of shares each.

EaseMyTrip.com is operated by Easy Trip Planners Private Limited.

For the calendar year 2021, Easy Trip will be the tenth issue, after Indian Railway Finance Corporation, Indigo Paints, Home First Finance Company, Stove Kraft, Brookfield India REIT, Nureca, RailTel Corporation of India, Heranba Industries, and MTAR Technologies.

How the above IPO sails through remains to be seen. Meanwhile, stay tuned for more updates from this space.