Asian share markets are trading in the positive territory following recent rallies in the US and other peers.

The Nikkei is down 0.2% while the Hang Seng is up 0.9%. The Shanghai Composite rallied over 1%.

In US stock markets, Wall Street indices closed slightly higher on Wednesday with the three major indexes managing their third straight day of gains after test data showed the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech offered some protection against the new Omicron variant.

The Dow Jones added 0.1% while the Nasdaq advanced 0.6%.

Back home, Indian share markets are trading on a flat note.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 69 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 24 points.

Reliance and Asian Paints are among the top gainers today. HDFC Bank, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index are trading higher by 0.2% and 0.6%, respectively.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed with stocks in the telecom sector and energy sector witnessing buying interest.

Realty stocks and finance stocks, on the other hand, are trading in the red.

Shares of Tanla Platforms and GSK Pharma hit their 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 75.45 against the US$.

Crude oil prices extended gains on confidence that the Omicron coronavirus variant would not dent global growth, even as some governments stepped up curbs to stop its rapid spread.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.1% at Rs 48,047 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading down by 0.1% at Rs 61,564 per kg.

Gold is flat today as the US dollar and Treasury yields firmed ahead of key inflation data that could provide clues on the Federal Reserve's next policy move.

Speaking of the precious yellow metal, how lucrative has gold been as a long-term investment in India?

The chart below shows the annual returns on gold over the last 15 years...

As you can see, barring just two years - 2013 and 2015, gold has delivered positive returns in 13 of the last 15 years.

The recent price volatility in the bullion market has rattled many traders. Even with the recent volatility in prices, gold remains among the best-performing commodities this year to combat the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

In news from the automobile sector, Tata Motors is amm kilometers of EV operations on the road.rchive-page&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=views-on-news&utm_content=story" target="_blank">electric vehicles (EVs) at its core.

The nation's largest truck maker has taken a lead in the passenger electric vehicle (EV) space and is transitioning to new-age platforms designed to deliver futuristic EVs in the commercial vehicle (CV) space as well.

These vehicle architectures will also be able to accommodate CNG, LNG, and diesel powertrains, in a significant shift from the past when fossil-fueled vehicles were re-engineered to make EVs.

Girish Wagh, executive director of the commercial vehicle business said Tata Motors wants to lead and drive electrification in the marketplace just as it did with the conventional powertrains in the past.

It is working on a range of options catering to the short-range battery-operated vehicles for the last mile with the small CV offerings and gas-based fuel-cell electric vehicles to cater to the more extended range.

The company is also revamping its sales and marketing interface with the induction of senior marketing professionals like Shubranshu Singh, who joined from Royal Enfield, and former Ford India managing director Anurag Mehrotra, who will steer its international business and strategy.

Apart from the last mile, some steel and cement companies are asking for electric trucks for mining applications, and Tata Motors has already started working on a solution.

Note that Tata Motors' nearest rival in the CV segment, Ashok Leyland, is already out in the market looking for an investor for its EV business under Switch Mobility.

Earlier this year, Tata Motors secured orders for 15 hydrogen fuel cell electric buses from Indian Oil Corp.

Tata Motors has so far supplied more than 650 buses to various state transport undertakings and has secured experience of 20 m kilometers of EV operations on the road.

Shares of Tata Motors are currently trading lower by 0.5%.

Moving on to news from the telecom sector, senior executives of Bharti Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) pushed the government to put all 5G bands including those currently used for 4G, for sale, reduce levies, and give a longer period of moratorium on payment for the new airwaves.

Vodafone and Jio asked for a level playing field where no spectrum airwave is allotted to any OTT or satellite player and all get a chance to bid as the telcos do.

These comments by Vodafone Idea come on the back of a battle between satellite firms and telcos where the former have asked for free or nominally priced airwaves while the latter have protested the high-priced auction route.

The battle between the two camps heated up when the sector regulator recently asked Starlink, the satellite broadband arm of Elon Musk's SpaceX, not to "solicit any telecom business or collect any related fees" for its upcoming broadband-from-space services in India without the necessary authorizations.

We will keep you updated on the latest developments in this space. Stay tuned.

Telecom stocks are trading on a positive note today with Bharti Airtel up 0.5% while Vodafone Idea has zoomed 9%.