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

Benchmark indices edged higher in today's session, bucking the weak trend in global markets, helped by gains in metal and realty stocks.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 194 points (up 0.4%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 61 points (up 0.4%).

Tata Steel and JSW Steel were among the top gainers today.

Titan Company and ONGC, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 15,889, up by 48 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index ended up by 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively.

Sectoral indices ended on a positive note with stocks in the metal sector, realty sector, and capital goods sector witnessing most of the buying interest.

Consumer durables and energy stocks, on the other hand, witnessed selling pressure.

Shares of Dabur India and Dalmia Bharat hit their respective 52-week highs today.

Asian stock markets ended on a negative note today as a bout of risk aversion boosted bonds and the dollar, while investors braced for minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting.

The Hang Seng ended down by 0.4%, while the Shanghai Composite ended the day up by 0.7%.

The Nikkei ended down by 1% in today's session.

US stock futures are trading on a flat note today with the Dow Futures trading up by 32 points.

The rupee is trading at 74.62 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading up by 0.4% at Rs 47,879 per 10 grams.

In news from the hotel's sector, Indian Hotels was among the top buzzing stocks today.

Shares of Indian Hotels rallied 6% to hit a 20-month high of Rs 157.3 on the BSE in intra-day trade today on the back of heavy volumes.

The stock of the Tata group company was trading at its highest level since November 2019. It touched a record high of Rs 164 on 26 June 2019.

In the past four trading days, the market price of Indian Hotels has surged 11% after the company said that a special committee of the board approved raising up to Rs 2.5 bn on a private placement basis through non-convertible debentures (NCDs).

The management guided that though the domestic operations have witnessed traction, recovery in international business is commendable.

Also, the company's focus on being cost prudent will aid in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margin expansion, despite subdued net sales in near future.

The company is hopeful of demand recovery in the US and the UK in the next three to four months with the situation now gradually coming under control.

In the January-March quarter of 2021, Indian Hotels had reported a positive EBITDA of Rs 830 m, an increase of 118% from the December quarter.

Indian Hotels is South Asia's largest hospitality company by market capitalization. It operates brands such as Taj, SeleQtions, Vivanta, and Ginger.

The company has a portfolio of 196 hotels, including 40 under development globally across 4 continents, 12 countries, and in over 80 locations.

Indian Hotel's share price ended the day up by 3% on the BSE.

Moving on to news from the banking sector...

State Bank of India to Auction Two NPA Accounts Next Month

State Bank of India (SBI) will auction two non-performing accounts (NPAs) next month to recover dues of over Rs 3.1 bn, according to a notice by the lender.

The two accounts to be put up for e-auction on August 6 are Bhadreshwar Vidyut Private Limited (BVPL) with a loan outstanding of Rs 2.6 bn and GOL Offshore Limited with Rs 507.5 m dues.

'In terms of the bank's policy on sale on financial assets, in line with the regulatory guidelines, we place these accounts for sale to ARCs/banks/NBFCs/FIs, on the terms and conditions indicated there against,' SBI said in the notice.

The reserve price for the auction of Bhadreshwar Vidyut is set at Rs 1 bn and for GOL Offshore at Rs 510 m.

SBI has asked the interested parties to do the due diligence of these assets with immediate effect, after submitting expressions of interest and executing a non-disclosure agreement with the bank.

'We reserve the right not to go ahead with the proposed sale at any stage, without assigning any reason. The decision of the bank in this regard shall be final and binding,' SBI said.

BVPL was set up in 2007 as a special purpose vehicle promoted by OPG group, having substantial experience in the power and steel sectors.

On the other hand, the Mumbai-based GOL Offshore is engaged in the business of providing services to oil and gas extraction, excluding surveying.

How this pans out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on the latest news from this space.

SBI's share price ended the day up by 8% on the BSE.

Speaking of stocks, here's a pattern that if you see, you must sell your position. After all, exits are more important than entries.

In the chart below, we can see the head and shoulder pattern - the stock goes up, makes a high, falls a little bit, goes up to a higher high, does not make a higher low, rallies again fails to make a new high, and then starts to break down.

This usually happens in a situation where a stock or index has typically been in a bull trend for a while. Spotting this correctly can help you save money.