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

Benchmark indices ended with marginal gains in a choppy session today supported by auto stocks due to price hikes, thrust on electric vehicles (EVs) and ETF launches in the sector.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 86 points (up 0.1%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 52 points (up 0.3%).

Hero MotoCorp and Grasim Industries were among the top gainers today.

HCL Tech and HDFC Bank, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 18,344, up by 70 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index ended up by 0.2% and 0.6%, respectively.

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

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

Shares of Adani Green Energy and Greaves Cotton hit their respective 52-week highs today.

Asian stock markets ended on a mixed note today.

The Hang Seng ended down by 0.7%, while the Shanghai Composite ended up by 0.6%. The Nikkei ended up by 0.7% in today's session.

US stock futures are trading on a positive note today with the Dow Futures trading up by 46 points.

The rupee is trading at 74.24 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading up by 0.3% at Rs 47,919 per 10 grams.

In news from the IT sector, Brightcom Group was among the top buzzing stocks today.

Shares of Brightcom Group surged 5% to Rs 191 apiece on the BSE in today's early deals after the company announced the proposal regarding the issuance of bonus shares which will be considered by its board next week on Tuesday, 25 January 2022.

The board meeting to be held on 25 January 2022 would consider the proposal to declare bonus shares for the benefit of the shareholders.

Brightcom Group shares have given multibagger returns of over 2,862% in a year's period, from trading around Rs 6 to currently hovering over Rs 191 per share. The multibagger stock has rallied more than 475% in the last six months alone.

'Furthermore, as the Brightcom share has multiplied several times in the past 12 months, it has now reached levels that may be beyond the reach of many small investors. Issuing bonus shares will make it more affordable for new, incoming members of our shareholder list,' the company added.

The company has a reserve position of Rs 36.6 bn on a capital of Rs 2.1 bn. This aspect gives them adequate room to capitalize reserves and distribute part of those reserves as a bonus share issue.

Brightcom Group is a digital marketing company as it consolidates Ad-tech, New Media and IoT based businesses across the globe. The company's global presence includes the US, Israel, Latin America ME, Western Europe and Asia Pacific regions

Its clients include leading blue-chip advertisers like Airtel, British Airways, Coca-Cola, Hyundai Motors, ICICI Bank, ITC, LIC, Maruti Suzuki, MTV, P&G, Qatar Airways, Samsung, Viacom, Sony, Star India, Vodafone, Titan, and many others.

Brightcom Group's share price ended the day up by 4% on the BSE.

Moving on to news from the retailing sector...

Metro Brands Hits Upper Circuit on Strong Q3 Show

Shares of recently listed Metro Brands zoomed as much as 20% during early trade today following a strong performance in the December quarter earnings.

The footwear retail chain reported a 54.6% year on year (YoY) jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 1 bn for the third quarter ended December 2021. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 652.2 m during the October-December quarter of the previous fiscal.

Its total revenue from operations was up 59% at Rs 4.8 bn during the quarter under review against Rs 3 bn in the same period of the previous fiscal, according to the regulatory filing.

Metro Brands, an Indian footwear specialty retailer has signed an exclusive strategic partnership with FitFlop, for sale and distribution in India.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed company was listed on 22 December 2022 on the bourses. The company raised Rs 13.7 bn via its initial public offering (IPO). It sold shares in the range of Rs 485-500 apiece during 12-14 December 2021.

Established in 1955, Metro Brands is one of the largest Indian footwear specialty retailers in India. Metro Brands also offer accessories such as belts, bags, socks, masks, and wallets, at their stores.

Some of the company's well-known brands include Metro, Mochi, Walkway, Da Vinchi, and J. Fontini, as well as certain third-party brands such as Crocs, Skechers, Clarks, Florsheim, and Fitflop.

As of 31 December 2021, Metro Brands operated 629 stores across 140 cities in India. It is also the national retail partner for Crocs in India and operates 159 stores.

Metro Brands' share price ended the day up by 20% on the BSE.

Speaking of the current stock market scenario, note that the BSE smallcap index has surged more than 200% since the crash in March 2020.

The Smallcap to Sensex ratio, a metric referred to get a sense of relative valuations, currently stands at 0.48 times. To be sure, this is higher than a median of 0.43 times.

And yet, it's the lowest of all the peaks in the small caps so far. In the last cycle which peaked in January 2018, when the ratio touched 0.49, the peak was still 9 months away.