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

Benchmark indices edged higher in today's session after a tweet by the Prime Minister's office said PM Narendra Modi will address the nation at 5 PM later in the day.

Investors' confidence resonated in the markets as participants hoped the PM would throw light on the state of the economy and may provide clarity on the vaccination drive.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 228 points (up 0.4%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 81 points (up 0.5%).

Adani Ports and Tata Motors were among the top gainers today.

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

GX Nifty was trading at 15,779, up by 70 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE MidCap index and the BSE SmallCap index ended up by 0.8% and 1.4%, respectively.

Sectoral indices ended on a positive note with stocks in the power sector and telecom sector witnessing most of the buying interest.

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

Shares of Metropolis Healthcare and Varun Beverages hit their respective 52-week highs today.

Asian stock markets ended on a mixed note today after US jobs data showed recovery despite missed expectations.

The Hang Seng ended down by 0.5%, while the Shanghai Composite ended the day up by 0.2%.

The Nikkei ended up by 0.3% in today's session.

US stock futures are trading on a flat note today with the Dow Futures trading down by 7 points.

The rupee is trading at 72.80 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading down by 0.3% at Rs 48,865 per 10 grams.

Power Grid Corp Gains an Acquiring Two SPVs From REC Power

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

Power Grid Corporation of India surged over 5% after the state-run company said it has acquired two special purpose vehicles (SPVs) from the REC Power Distribution Company.

REC Power Distribution Company (RECPDCL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of REC under the Ministry of Power, has handed over two projects specific special purpose vehicles (SPVs) 'Fatehgarh Bhadla Transco' and 'Sikar New Transmission' to Power Grid Corporation of India.

The selection of Power Grid Corporation was carried out through tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) for the selection of transmission developers in line with the standard bidding documents and guidelines thereof as notified by the Ministry of Power.

Fatehgarh Bhadla Transco was incorporated for transmission system strengthening for evacuation of power from solar energy zones in Rajasthan (8.1 GW) under Phase II-Part B.

Sikar New Transmission was incorporated for transmission system strengthening scheme for evacuation of power from solar energy zones in Rajasthan (8.1 GW) under Phase-II - Part C.

The entire shareholding of both the SPVs, comprising of 50,000 equity shares, presently held by REC Power, has been transferred at par value along with all its assets and liabilities on 4 June 2021 to Power Grid Corporation of India.

On a consolidated basis, Power Grid Corporation of India reported a 26% jump in net profit to Rs 33.7 bn in the third quarter of 2021.

Power Grid Corporation of India was established by the government of India as the central transmission utility of India.

As of 31 March 2021, the government of India holds 51.3% in the electric utility manufacturing company.

Power Grid Corp's share price ended the day up by 5% on the BSE.

Speaking of the power sector, the power exchanged in India is about 4.5% of the overall power production, as can be seen in the chart below.

Moving on to news from the banking sector...

PNB Expects to Triple FY22 Net Profit, Identifies Rs 80 bn NPAs for NARCL

India's second-largest lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) expects to triple its net profit during the current financial year to Rs 60 bn, compared to Rs 20.2 bn during the financial year, MD and CEO SS Mallikarjuna Rao said on Saturday.

The lender also expects to grow its loan book by 8% during the financial year 2022, despite Covid-related impacts.

However, the domestic advances of the lender had declined 3% year on year (YoY) to Rs 7.2 bn during the March quarter.

"For FY22, our net profit should not be less than Rs 60 bn at the conservative level. It all depends on credit growth, demand in the economy," PNB MD SS Mallikarjuna Rao said on Saturday during the earnings call.

Mr. Rao, however, mentioned that accurate estimation could be done after the end of the first quarter of the current financial year.

On loan growth, Rao said, "At the conservative level, we would like to show a growth rate of 8% if the economy moves on expected lines where the GDP growth is 9.5% and the Covid-19 impact is reduced or eliminated by June."

The lender has identified non-performing assets (NPAs) worth Rs 80 bn that it will transfer to the national asset reconstruction company (NARCL).

However, the operational guidelines are in the final stages, and the decision of whether such assets will have to be transferred to NARCL at net book value, is yet to be taken, he added.

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

Punjab National Bank's share price ended the day down by 2.4% on the BSE.