Indian share markets traded in a rangebound fashion throughout the day today to end flat.

Benchmark indices gave up early gains and slipped into red owing to weakness in auto, and IT stocks.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 8 points.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 19 points (down 0.1%).

Axis Bank and SBI were among the top gainers today.

Tech Mahindra and IndusInd Bank, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

IOC's share price rose 1.6% today. Shares of IOC were under pressure for the past couple of weeks owing to marketing margin pressure.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 15,821, up by 46 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE MidCap index and the BSE SmallCap index ended lower by 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the power sector and banking sector witnessing most of the buying interest.

Auto stocks, IT stocks, and realty stocks, on the other hand, witnessed selling pressure.

Shares of Orient Bell and Axita Cotton hit their 52-week highs today.

Asian stock markets ended on a mixed note today. The Hang Seng and the Nikkei ended down by 0.6% and 1.5%, respectively. The Nikkei added 1.1%.

US stock futures are trading on a negative note today with Dow Futures trading down by 351 points.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading down by 0.2% at Rs 50,630 per 10 grams.

The rupee is trading at 78.96 against the US$. The domestic currency stepped back from record lows hit in the previous session.

Amid the rupee declining against the US dollar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Indian currency is relatively better placed than other global currencies against the greenback.

The domestic currency rupee hit an all-time low of 79.03. Rising interest rates, inflation, and global liquidity have kept the rupee under pressure.

In news from the telecom sector, Sterlite Tech has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a balance 25% stake in Jiangsu Sterlite Tongguang Fiber Co. (JSTFCL) for cash consideration of Rs 650 m.

The company's current shareholding in JSTFCL is 75%. Post-acquisition, JSTFCL will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sterlite Tech.

STFCL was incorporated as a joint venture between STL and Jiangsu Tongguang Information Co. in China in January 2011 to manufacture optical fiber.

In an exchange filing, the company said this acquisition will ensure optical fiber supply security to support the company's expanding optical fiber cable operations.

Moving on to news from the batteries space, Eveready Industries was among the top buzzing stocks today.

Eveready's MD and CEO in the AGM informed that the topline growth coupled with sustainable profit and adherence to the 'highest degree of good corporate governance' will be key areas of focus for India's largest dry cell battery maker.

Speaking at the annual general meeting (AGM), he said Eveready is in the midst of a transformation, building on the core strength of a solid brand, strong distribution network, and significantly high market share in the core areas of battery and flashlight.

Speaking about individual categories, the company is expecting the lighting business to become profitable in the immediate future. The business contributes 20% to the company's turnover.

On the input cost pressure, the company highlighted that zinc is a key input for batteries which did shoot up from the second half of the last fiscal. So the company took a price hike of 12-15%, partially offsetting the cost push.

Following all these positive developments, Eveready Industries' share price ended 10% higher today.

The chart above is the Smallcap to Sensex ratio. Despite the sharp rally in small caps, the ratio is 0.47 now.