Indian share markets ended their volatile day marginally higher today.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 139 points (up 0.3%).

The NSE Nifty ended up by 35 points (up 0.3%).

ONGC and NTPC were among the top gainers today.

Axis Bank, on the other hand, was among the top losers today.

SGX Nifty was trading at 13,537, up by 12 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE Mid Cap index ended up by 0.2%. The BSE Small Cap index ended up by 0.5%.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the metal sector and oil & gas sector witnessing buying interest. Pharma and IT stocks, on the other hand, witnessed selling pressure.

Asian share markets ended on a mixed note with the Nikkei ending down by 0.4% and the Hang Seng ending up by 0.4%.

The rupee is trading at 73.68 against the US$.

In news from the commodity space, gold prices for the latest contract on MCX were trading flat at Rs 49,081 per 10 grams.

In global markets, gold prices edged higher today as muted US jobs data spurred concerns about swift economic recovery.

However, gold prices struggled to gain buying interest in Indian markets amid muted global trends.

Note that gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offered by domestic mutual funds saw net redemptions of Rs 1.4 billion in November - their first outflow since March.

Between April and October, these funds had seen inflows of nearly Rs 50 billion.

Reports state that the correction in gold prices has discouraged some investors from investing in gold.

After hitting a record high in August, gold prices have come off by more than 12%. However, on a year-to-date basis, gold is up more than 25%.

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.

Even with the recent volatility in prices, gold remains among the best-performing commodities this year to combat the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Moving on to stock-specific news...

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) was among the top buzzing stocks today.

State-owned Indian Oil Corporation said the crude oil throughput out of its refineries rose to 100% in November 2020, as consumption of all petroleum products has almost reached pre-COVID levels.

On a sequential basis, this figure stood at 88% in October.

The company said that as the Indian economy prepares to bounce back, Indian Oil has gradually raised the throughput of its refineries to the maximum capacity in six months from about 55% of rated capacity at the beginning of May 2020.

Besides, the company said that demand for LPG has gone up by approximately 1.4% to 1.09 MMT as compared to the corresponding period last year. Furthermore, the company said that jet fuel (ATF) registered a growth of 4% as compared to October 2020 but was still 45% less when compared on a year-on-year basis.

Apart from the above, ONGC share price was also in focus today on the back of rising crude oil prices.

Note that crude oil prices are witnessing buying interest this week on the back of a COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Britain and the imminent approval of a vaccine in the United States, which could spur a rebound in fuel demand.

Crude oil prices were also supported by some nervousness after two wells at a small oilfield in northern Iraq were set ablaze in what the government called a "terrorist attack", though production was not affected.

Crude inventories rose by 15.2 million barrels in the week to December 4, the Energy Information Administration said.

Note that the coronavirus pandemic, coupled with the collapse of an OPEC-led output pact sent crude oil prices crashing in March.

After the collapse of that output, pact led to a brief Saudi Arabia-Russia price war, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies agreed on a new deal on record production cuts to support prices.

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

Passenger Vehicle Wholesale Sales Rise in November with Festive Demand

In news from the automobiles sector...

Passenger vehicle wholesales in India increased by 12.7% to 2,85,367 units in November as against 2,53,139 units in the same month last year. The growth was seen on the back of festive demand.

According to the latest data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), two-wheeler sales rose 13.4% to 16,00,379 units, compared with 14,10,939 units in the same month last year.

Motorcycle sales were at 10,26,705 units as against 8,93,538 units in November 2019, up 14.9%. Scooter sales were also up by 9.2% at 5,02,561 units from 4,59,851 units in the same month last year.

Three-wheeler sales, however, declined by 57.64% to 23,626 units as against 55,778 units in November 2019.

Speaking of the automobile sector, note that the sector has rebounded sharply from its March lows.

The Nifty Auto index gained as much as 15% last month.

The auto index entered the greed phase in September 2019 and will stay there until December 2021. This means there is still a lot of fuel left for auto stocks.

How automobile stocks perform in the coming months remains to be seen. Stay tuned for all the updates from this space.