Indian share markets witnessed buying interest during closing hours and ended today's volatile session higher.

The BSE Sensex, which hit a low of 43,582, bounced back nearly 700 points and ended around 44,250 levels.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 432 points (up 1%).

The NSE Nifty closed higher by 129 points (up 1%).

Bajaj Finance and Tata Steel were among the top gainers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 13,051, up by 191 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE Mid Cap index ended up by 0.9%. The BSE Small Cap index ended up by 0.7%.

On the sectoral front, gains were largely seen in the metal sector and finance sector.

Asian stock markets ended on a positive note. As of the most recent closing prices, the Hang Seng ended up by 0.6% while the Nikkei ended up by 0.9%.

European shares inched higher in early trade today, but gains were limited as an extension of coronavirus restrictions in Germany and grim economic growth forecasts for the United Kingdom dented sentiment.

US stock futures are trading on a flat note. Nasdaq Futures are trading up by 41 points (up 0.3%), while Dow Futures are trading up by 7 points (up 0.1%).

The rupee is trading at 73.84 against the US$.

The domestic currency appreciated 97 paise to 73.82 against the US$ today on sustained foreign fund inflows and weak American currency.

In the previous session, the rupee appreciated by 10 paise to close at nearly a one-month-high of 73.91 against the US dollar.

Gold prices are trading up by 0.5% at Rs 48,736 per 10 grams.

Here are Top 5 Reasons Why Indian Share Markets Ended Higher Today

Economic Recovery: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das today said the country's economy has recovered stronger than expected from the initial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but there is a need to be watchful of demand sustainability after the end of festivities.

Relaxation in Surveillance Measures: The capital market regulator on Wednesday relaxed certain surveillance measures, including those pertaining to market-wide position limits, that were put in place eight months ago to curb volatility in the markets due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Positive Global Cues: Indian share markets reversed the trend with a positive opening in European markets.

Japanese shares closed at a more than 29-and-a-half-year high today, as tech shares advanced overnight in the US, but worries over the latest coronavirus restrictions at home hindering economic recovery capped gains.

The Nikkei ended up 0.9% at 26,537.31, its highest closing level since April 1991.

Steel Stocks Extend Rally: Steel stocks witnessed huge buying interest today with the BSE Metal index surging as much as 4.5%. Data from the World Steel Association (WSA) showed that India's steel production increased by almost 1% to 9.06 million tonnes in October compared with the same period a year ago.

Bluechips Regain Momentum: Select blue-chips including HDFC Bank, HDFC, Reliance Industries, and Kotak Mahindra Bank surged in the last hour of trading.

Speaking of the current stock market scenario, note that Indian share markets have climbed back to their highest levels since the pandemic began.

The Sensex is trading above the 44,000-mark. Meanwhile, the Nifty is trading near the psychological 13,000-mark.

The smallcap index is up as much as 90% since 23 March.

As per Richa Agarwal, lead smallcap analyst at Equitymaster, there could still be a lot of steam left to this smallcap rebound rally.

The smallcap index is still 20% away from the lifetime highs in January 2018.

Have a look at the history of previous smallcap crashes and rebounds over the last two decades...

As you can see, every big fall in the smallcap index was followed by a sharp up move, a minimum gain of 200%. Twice the rebounds were just shy of touching 300%.

Richa believes if you focus on the quality of business, margin of safety in valuations, and an optimum asset allocation, you are likely to create huge wealth for yourself.

Busy December for IPO Market

In the latest developments from the IPO space, as per a leading financial daily, nearly half a dozen unlisted companies are lining up to launch their initial public offer (IPO) next month.

Companies like Suryoday Small Finance Bank, ESAF Small Finance Bank, Nazara Technologies, RailTel, Burger King, Kalyan Jewellers, and Antony Waste Management are among those that are conducting roadshows and planning IPOs in December, The Economic Times mentioned in a report citing bankers.

So far this year, 12 companies have raised nearly Rs 250 billion through IPOs compared with Rs 123.6 billion raised by 16 companies in 2019.

Kalyan Jewellers, which is backed by private equity major Warburg Pincus, is likely to launch its Rs 17.5-billion maiden IPO in December.

Meanwhile, Suryoday SFB and ESAF SFB are likely to raise Rs 10 billion each in December.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Nazara Technologies is planning to hit the primary market to raise about Rs 9.5 billion.

State-owned RailTel Corporation of India is likely to hit the primary market in the first week of December to raise about Rs 7 billion. The IPO is entirely an offer-for-sale through which the government will offload 86.6 million equity shares.

Burger King India is expected to launch its maiden IPO in mid-December to raise Rs 5.4 billion through the fresh issue and Rs 4 billion through an offer for sale of up to 60 million equity shares by QSR Asia, the promoter.

Antony Waste Handling Cell, which canceled its IPO in March, will also likely try again in December.

Some of the companies that had deferred their IPO plans, now want to tap the market again on robust investor appetite, said bankers.

How the above IPOs sail through remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on the latest developments in this space.

Moving on to stock-specific news...

Astral Poly Technik and ICICI Lombard were among the top buzzing stocks today.

Shares of Astral Poly Technik rose in early trade today after the company said it plans to enter the business of making and trading plastic water storage tanks and add new capacity.

The company intends to add 4,800 million tonnes per annum of new capacity at its Ahmedabad plant and 13,500 MTPA at its Aurangabad facility, for which it will not spend more than Rs 750 million, the company said in an exchange filing.

It intends to commission production at the new capacity in Gujarat by Q4FY21.

The company has cited large control by unorganized players, logical extension of the brand among its pan-Indian network, many dealers and distributors already being part of this business as reasons for its foray.

The plumbing systems maker will acquire assets from Shree Prabhu Petrochemicals Pvt. and other parties in Aurangabad, for a total consideration not exceeding Rs 510 million, according to the filing.

Astral Poly Technik's share price ended the day up by 3.2%.

Meanwhile, ICICI Lombard's share price surged 6% to its record high of Rs 1,467.85, thereby entering the top 50 most valuable firms list.

The stock surpassed its previous high of Rs 1,439.90 touched on December 26, 2019.

With Rs 65,988 crore market capitalization, ICICI Lombard stood at 49th position in the overall market-cap ranking, BSE data shows. The company's market cap is now higher than that of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company and IndusInd Bank.

Steel Sector Sees Revival in Q3

Moving on to news from the steel sector, steel stocks witnessed huge buying interest today with the BSE Metal index surging as much as 4.5%.

Shares of Tata Steel, JSW Steel, and Jindal Steel & Power surged over 6% intraday.

After being hit badly by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Indian steel production has begun to gather steam since the third quarter of the current fiscal.

Data from the World Steel Association (WSA) showed that India's steel production increased by almost 1% to 9.06 million tonnes in October compared with the same period a year ago.

WSA data also showed that China alone accounted for over half the production in October at 92.2 million tonnes, a rise of 12.7% over October 2019.

For the 10 months to October, the steel association data showed a sharp 14% drop in India output.

Steel production in India was affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March with the Union Government announcing a shutdown.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, India's steelmaking capacity could touch 142 million tonnes by 2022.