Indian share markets witnessed volatile trading activity throughout the day today and ended marginally higher.

Benchmark indices snapped their 4-day losing streak, led by gains in index heavyweights ICICI Bank, ONGC, and Axis Bank.

Although broader markets witnessed heavy selling.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 145 points (up 0.2%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 11 points (up 0.1%).

ICICI Bank and Axis Bank were among the top gainers today.

BPCL and Bajaj Finserv, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 18,198, up by 53 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index ended down by 1.7% and 1.8%, respectively.

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

Realty and auto stocks, on the other hand, witnessed selling pressure.

Shares of Shoppers Stop and KEC International hit their respective 52-week highs today.

Asian stock markets ended on a mixed note today.

The Hang Seng ended on a flat note, while the Shanghai Composite ended up by 0.8%. The Nikkei ended down by 0.7% in today's session.

US stock futures are trading on a flat note today with the Dow Futures trading down by 3 points.

The rupee is trading at 75.08 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading up by 0.5% at Rs 48,014 per 10 grams.

In news from the power sector, Tata Power was among the top buzzing stocks today.

Tata Power, one of the country's largest private-sector integrated companies, now has a network of more than 1000 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across the country.

This network of 1000 public EV charging stations provides innovative and seamless EV charging experiences for Tata Power's customers across offices, malls, hotels, retail outlets, and places of public access, enabling clean mobility and freedom from range anxiety.

In addition, there are close to 10,000 home EV charging points, which make EV charging super-convenient for vehicle owners.

Tata Power EZ Chargers ecosystem covers the entire value chain of public chargers, captive chargers, bus/ fleet chargers, and home chargers.

Starting with the first chargers being installed in Mumbai, Tata Power EV charging points are now present in nearly 180 cities and in multiple State and National highways under various business models and market segments.

The company is planning to have a base of 10,000 charging stations as also to enable whole stretches of highways into e-highways across the length and breadth of the country.

Tata Power has collaborated with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to roll out EV charging infrastructure and aims to expand its presence further in many cities of India.

It has partnered with Tata Motors, MG Motors India, Jaguar Land Rover, TVs & more, for developing EV charging infrastructure for their customers and dealers.

Tata Power's share price ended the day down by 4.1% on the BSE.

Speaking of EV charging stations, after the government announced the extension of the FAME II scheme, several states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Delhi have announced their own policies for the faster adoption of EVs.

Under the FAME II scheme, 350 new EV charging stations have been installed across the country.

Here's a summary of stations that have been installed in each city.

The government is actively formulating guidelines such as setting EV charging infrastructure by the Ministry of Power, amendment in model building bye-laws (MBBL-2016) for EV charging infrastructure by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, etc.

Moving on to news from the paints sector...

Asian Paints Under Pressure After Whistle-Blower Flags Related Party Transactions

Asian Paints shares slumped over 4% today after reports said that a whistle-blower has reportedly flagged off related party transactions carried out by the paint maker's promoters that allegedly benefited them at the cost of the company's shareholders.

The whistle-blower informed the market regulator that money to buy a company called Paladin Paints and Chemicals went from Asian Paints but its promoters Ashwin Dani and son Malav now control it in their personal capacity.

The market watchdog has reportedly sought further details from the whistle-blower.

In a clarification to the exchanges, Asian Paints said,

• The said complaint was investigated in accordance with the company's whistleblower policy, and after undertaking a detailed review of the transactions which were mentioned therein, the said complaint was closed as the inquiry concluded that the transactions were undertaken in compliance with the law, and there was no basis for the allegations made.

Explaining further, the company said that it had entered into a technical consultancy agreement with Jayram Nadkarni, a former employee of Asian Paints and Paladin Paints & Chemicals during the financial year 2005-2006.

Pursuant to this agreement, an upfront consultancy charge of Rs 12 m and a monthly consultancy of Rs 1.2 m for a period of 21 months amounting to Rs 25.2 m was paid to Nadkarni for providing necessary technical consultancy, technology knowledge package and process for manufacturing of resins to the company with respect to the products governed by the agreement, Asian Paints said in the exchange filing.

Asian Paints share price ended the day down by 2% on the BSE.