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

Benchmark indices edged higher tracking firm global market cues and tracking gains in index heavyweights Reliance Industries, TCS, and HDFC Bank.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 226 points (up 0.4%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 46 points (up 0.3%).

HCL Technologies and TCS were among the top gainers today.

Adani Ports and Grasim Industries, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 16,547, up by 127 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small-Cap index ended down by 0.9% and 1.6%, respectively.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the IT sector and telecom sector witnessing buying interest.

Auto and realty stocks, on the other hand, witnessed selling pressure.

Shares of Nestle India and Bajaj Finance hit their respective 52-week highs today.

Asian stock markets ended on a positive note today.

The Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite ended the day up by 1.1% and 1.5%, respectively. The Nikkei ended up by 1.8% in today's session.

US stock futures are trading on a positive note today with the Dow Futures trading up by 146 points.

The rupee is trading at 74.21 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading up by 0.1% at Rs 47,204 per 10 grams.

Speaking of stock markets, in his latest video, Co-head of Research Rahul Shah talks about the stellar performance of Tata group companies in the current bull market.

In the video, Rahul also compared the performance over a 5-year and a 10-year period.

In news from the pharma sector, Cadila Healthcare was among the top buzzing stocks today.

Cadila Healthcare shares surged 7% today after the company received the emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for ZyCoV-D, the world's first Plasmid DNA Vaccine for COVID-19.

The company said it is planning to launch the vaccine in September.

ZyCoV-D is a three-dose vaccine that will be administered first on day zero, day 28th and then the 56th day.

With this approval, India now has its first Covid-19 vaccine for adolescents in the 12-18 age group, besides the adult population.

ZyCoV-D is a needle-free vaccine administered using the PharmaJet, which ensures painless intradermal vaccine delivery.

In a statement, Pankaj R Patel, Chairman of Cadila Healthcare said,

• This is a historic milestone with ZyCoV-D, a product of Indian innovation becoming the world's first DNA vaccine being offered for human use and supporting the world's largest immunization drive.

In another development Zydus Pharmaceuticals Inc, USA (a 100% subsidiary of Cadila Healthcare), has signed a license and supply agreement with CHEMI SpA of Italy, a subsidiary of Italfarmaco group, to launch the generic equivalent of Sanofi Aventis's branded product Lovenox (enoxaparin sodium injection) in seven dosage strengths in the United States.

Under the agreement, CHEMI will manufacture and supply the enoxaparin sodium injection which Zydus will commercialize in the US.

Also, the company has received final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market Tofacitinib extended-release tablets, 11 mg and 22 mg in the United States.

Cadila Healthcare's share price ended the day up by 2.4% on the BSE.

Moving on to news from the power sector...

NTPC Lands Raft of Solar Project Contracts in Cuba, Malawi, and Niger

India's strategy of showcasing its green energy credentials to land projects overseas has gained traction, with state-run NTPC securing a raft of project contracts under the aegis of International Solar Alliance (ISA) in Cuba, Niger, and Malawi to help set up solar parks to meet these countries' electricity demands, said two people aware of the development.

While NTPC has been awarded the project management consultancy (PMC) contract for setting up 900 megawatt (MW) solar projects in Cuba, it has also secured similar contracts in Malawi and Niger to set up 100 MW and 50 MW solar capacity, respectively.

These are the countries after Mali (500 MW) and Togo (285 MW) where India's largest power generation utility has been awarded PMC contracts through ISA, the first treaty-based international government organization headquartered in India.

NTPC is also eyeing similar opportunities in other ISA member countries in Africa such as Sudan, Congo, Mozambique, Egypt, Uganda, Rwanda, Gambia, Tanzania, Senegal, and Zimbabwe.

The company has been engaged as a facilitator by ISA and is targeting to help set up 10 gigawatts (GW) capacity in ISA member countries.

ISA, co-founded by India and France, has become a significant public policy tool for India and is considered a counter to China's ambitious 'One Belt One Road initiative'.

India's strategy is to negate the growing influence of strategic rival China in the region.

NTPC's share price ended the day down by 0.8% on the BSE.

Speaking of the power sector, it's interesting to note the power exchanged in India is about 4.5% of the overall power production, as can be seen in the chart below.

As per Tanushree Banerjee, Co-Head of Research at Equitymaster, India's power sector is currently in transition. It's driven by increasing reliance on short-term contracts and electricity spot markets.

This transition to the short-term market is happening due to quickly evolving industry dynamics.

Tanushree believes the Indian power sector will see a surge in spot power volumes due to certain factors.