Indian share markets continued to trade on a volatile note and ended on a flat note today.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 24 points (down 0.1%).

The NSE Nifty closed higher by 24 points (up 0.2%).

The SGX Nifty was trading at 11,126, up by 54 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE Mid Cap index ended up by 0.4%.

The BSE Small Cap index ended up by 0.9%.

On the sectoral front, gains were largely seen in the telecom sector and metal sector.

Asian stock markets ended on a mixed note. As of the most recent closing prices, the Hang Seng ended up by 0.62% and the Shanghai Composite stood higher by 0.17%. The Nikkei ended down by 0.26%.

The rupee was trading at 74.82 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by 1.2% at Rs 55,219 per 10 grams.

Speaking of the current stock market scenario, note that after over 2 years of lag, the smallcap index is beating Sensex in the post-COVID rebound.

Moving on, HDFC Ltd was among the top buzzing stocks today.

This was seen as it was reported that India's largest private-sector mortgage financier HDFC Ltd may launch a mega qualified institutional placement (QIP) today to raise Rs 140 billion as it looks to strengthen its balance-sheet and scout for M&A opportunities in the COVID-19 era.

As per a leading financial daily, the company has received excellent demand from long-only funds and the proposed fundraising is likely to be launched today. The plan is to raise the entire Rs 140 billion in a single tranche via a QIP of equity and warrants. It was not immediately clear on how NCDs (non-convertible debentures) would be accommodated as part of the exercise.

With the launch, HDFC Ltd will become the sixth corporate to launch a QIP during the lockdown period and will join the likes of Kotak Mahindra Bank, JM Financial, PI Industries Axis, Bank and Info Edge.

On June 19th, 2020, a committee of directors of the firm had approved a massive fund-raising exercise of up to Rs 140 billion in one or more tranches through a combination of financial instruments.

The HDFC statement added that the said funds are being raised to augment its long term resources, finance organic & inorganic business opportunities that may arise in financial services including housing finance and/or in areas where its subsidiaries operate, and to maintain sufficient liquidity and for general corporate purposes.

In news from the macroeconomic space, with the economy going through a slowdown, the NITI Aayog is of the view that India's gross domestic product (GDP) may contract around 5.1% in the current fiscal.

In a recent presentation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Finance Ministry, it has suggested ways to boost demand, specifically in the automobile sector and real estate sector.

As per NITI Aayog, the long-awaited scrappage policy should be brought in to help the automobile sector. It has also recommended the removal of cess on automobiles.

In a bid to revive demand in the realty sector, it has suggested reinstatement of the subvention scheme which was disallowed last year.

Further, the think tank has also recommended government spending as private expenditure and investment is likely to take a backseat in the current scenario.

NITI Aayog, in its presentation, also noted that manufacturing sector growth and capacity utilization was severely low even before the nationwide lockdown was implemented.

In another major recommendation, it was reported that the think tank has suggested privatization of three banks - Punjab & Sind Bank, UCO Bank, and the Bank of Maharashtra.