Indian share markets witnessed buying interest during closing hours today and ended on a positive note.

Benchmark indices erased early losses and edged higher for the third straight day, tracking mixed cues from global markets as sentiments were cautious on account of geopolitical tensions between US-China.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 224 points (up 0.7%) and the NSE Nifty closed higher by 90 points (up 1%).

The SGX Nifty was trading at 9,497, up by 8 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE Mid Cap index ended the day up by 1.9%, while the BSE Small-Cap index ended up by 1.1%.

On the sectoral front, gains were largely seen in the realty sector, oil & gas sector and FMCG sector, while IT stocks witnessed selling pressure.

Asian stock markets ended on a mixed note today as investors awaited the US response to China tightening control over the city of Hong Kong.

China's parliament on Thursday pressed ahead with national security legislation for the city, raising fears over the future of its democratic freedoms and function as a finance hub.

As of the most recent closing prices, the Hang Seng ended down by 0.7% and the Nikkei stood lower by 0.2%. The Shanghai Composite stood higher by 0.2%.

Gold prices are currently trading up by 0.4% at Rs 46,581.

The rupee is currently trading at 75.61 against the US$.

Note that stock markets around the world have witnessed one of the most volatile phases in 2020 so far.

One month we see a sharp decline followed by a sharp up move the next month.

One day we hear positive news of a vaccine for the virus. Another day, a WHO scientist says we might have to live with this virus for years.

Naturally, investors are confused as to what they should do? Buy, hold or sell their stocks.

In the video below, Girish Shetty, Research Analyst at Equitymaster, explains the current scenario and what are the type of stocks investors should buy, hold or sell in the current crisis.

Tune in to find out more...

Moving on, market participants were tracking 3M India share price, Voltas share price and Jubilant Life Science share price as these companies announced their March quarter results (Q4FY20) today.

Apart from the above, market participants were also tracking Vodafone Idea share price as reports stated that Google Inc. is considering picking a stake of about 5% in the company.

Shares of the company rallied 35% intraday today on the back of above news.

However, Vodafone Idea clarified that "currently there is no proposal as reported by the media that is being considered at the board", with reference to the above news.

In news from the economic space, as per a Reuters report, gross domestic product (GDP) data is expected to show India's economy grew at its slowest pace in at least two years in the March quarter as the coronavirus pandemic weakened already declining consumer demand and private investment.

The median forecast from a poll of economists put annual economic growth at 2.1% in the March quarter, lower than 4.7% in the December quarter.

According to Goldman Sachs, the full impact of the lockdown on manufacturing and services will become more apparent in the June quarter. Goldman Sachs has predicted a 45% contraction from a year ago.

Note that India's April manufacturing PMI hit a record low of 27.4, while services PMI saw its sharpest decline ever, diving to 5.4 in April from 49.3 in March.

On Thursday, S&P Global Ratings forecasted the Indian economy to contract 5% in the current fiscal as the lockdown imposed to contain Covid-19 pandemic has curtailed economic activity severely.

Earlier this week, rating agencies Fitch and CRISIL too had projected a 5% contraction for the Indian economy.

The Indian economy was grappling with its own issues and Covid-19 has made matters worse.

The industry was facing demand problems, due to which business houses were reluctant to undertake capex plans. Unemployment was at its peak and exports were consistently down for several months.

India's GDP growth has been on a consistent decline after peaking out at 7.9% in Q4 of FY18 to 4.7% in Q3 of FY20. This is evident in the chart below:

Interestingly, there's a silver lining in all this. India can become an outsourcing hub. The global slowdown will mean that countries like the US, will be looking out for low-cost outsourcing destinations like India.

Further, a lot of global buyers have already shifted to India to source ceramics, home appliances, fashion, and lifestyle goods.

Meanwhile, as per the reports, around a thousand foreign manufacturers want to relocate their production to India, a country they see as an alternative to China.

Here's an excerpt from one of the articles, co-head of Research Tanushree Banerjee wrote on Indian economic recovery:

• It's also a fact that India's importance in the global supply chain has never looked better. PM Modi himself referred to that.
  
  Therefore, utilizing the stimulus package to tighten India's presence in the global supply chain will be the fastest way to move up the Swoosh index. Any delay or disregard would cost India dearly.
  
  True that Apple, Samsung and several smartphone manufacturers are already considering an expansion of their Indian capacities.
  
  But the land, labor, liquidity, and legal reforms cannot remain on paper if the Make in India dreams are to be realized.
  
  I expect to gather more cues about India's prospects on the Swoosh index over coming months.

Watch this space as Tanushree tracks these Rebirth of India megatrends closely.

Moving on to news from the pharma sector, pharma companies witnessed buying interest today amid expectation of strong demand scenario from both the domestic and export market.

Shares of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Aurobindo Pharma, Biocon, Aarti Drugs, and Glenmark Pharma surged in the range of 3-5%.

In other news, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company (SPARC) and Sun Pharma have entered into a worldwide license agreement on the development and commercialization of SCD044 which is being evaluated as a potential oral treatment for atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and other autoimmune disorders.

As per the agreement, Sun Pharma will pay SPARC an upfront payment of US$ 20 million. SPARC will also be eligible to receive up to US$ 125 million as milestone payments contingent upon the achievement of clinical, regulatory and sales milestones, as well as tiered royalties on sales.

Sun Pharma share price ended the day up by 3.9%.