Indian share markets continued to trade on a positive note during closing hours and ended their session in the green.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 169 points (up 0.4%) and the NSE Nifty closed higher by 61 points (up 0.5%).

The BSE Mid Cap index ended up by 0.7%, while the BSE Small Cap index ended up by 0.6%.

On the sectoral front, gains were seen in the auto sector, metal sector and banking sector. IT sector and telecom sector, on the other hand, witnessed selling.

Asian stock markets finished on a mixed note as of the most recent closing prices. The Hang Seng stood up by 1.31% and the Nikkei was trading up by 0.14%, while the Shanghai Composite was trading down by 0.30%.

European markets were trading on a positive note. The FTSE 100 was up by 0.55%. The DAX was trading up by 0.41%, while the CAC 40 was trading up by 0.34%.

The rupee was trading at 70.63 to the US$ at the time of writing.

Speaking of the Indian share markets, the past few months have seen stock markets trading on a volatile note. While the Sensex has been rising, the rest of the market has seen most stocks falling. And even the Sensex's rise has been topsy-turvy.

But isn't that how markets have always behaved?

If you look at the stock market returns over the years, you will see that the markets have never moved in a linear fashion.

What do I mean by that?

It has never been a one-way street - only up or down.

Stock markets have always moved in cycles.

The Time to Buy Stocks is Now

Here's what Radhika Pandit wrote about this in one of the editions of The 5 Minute WrapUp...

• If you would have bought stocks when either the Sensex or the Smallcap index was in a downturn, you would have made big returns once the cycle turned and the bulls took over.
  
  Sarvajeet and I believe we are seeing a similar situation currently.
  
  The economic slowdown does not herald the end of the world or for that matter the end of India. It's a phase and like all phases - This too shall pass.

So, the real question is - Are you taking advantage of these market movements to buy quality stocks?

Our smallcap stocks analyst Richa Agarwal talks about the ongoing economic slowdown, an upcoming rebound in the small-cap space, and her number 1 stock pick for 2020 in the video below.

Tune in to find out more...

In the news from the IPO space, shares of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank were in focus today as the company made a robust stock market debut today. The stock of the company got listed at Rs 58 on the BSE, marking a 56.76% premium over its issue price of Rs 37 per share.

On the NSE, the scrip listed at Rs 58.75, a premium of 58.78% over the issue price.

Earlier this month, USFB raised Rs 2.5 billion in a pre-IPO round.

The bank's parent microfinance lender Ujjivan Financial Services went public in 2016 after receiving an in-principle license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to start a small finance bank.

The stock of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank closed 49.5% higher today.

In the news from the commodity space, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that global oil inventories could rise sharply despite an agreement by OPEC and its allies to deepen output cuts.

It stated that inventories will also rise despite the lower expected production by the US and other non-OPEC countries.

It stated that despite the additional curbs and a reduction in our forecast of 2020 non-OPEC supply growth to 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd), global oil inventories could build by 700,000 bpd in Q1 2020.

Note that last week, OPEC agreed to increase output curbs by nearly 50% in early 2020.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia agreed one of the deepest output cuts this decade to support crude prices and prevent a glut but were still debating how long the curbs would last next year.

How this development pans out and what effect it has on crude oil markets remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on all the developments from this space.