After opening the day on a positive note, Indian share markets turned volatile in the afternoon session and ended on a negative note.

Heavy selling as seen in the last hour of trade which led to benchmark indices erasing all of their gains.

Benchmark indices fell today as market participants are keenly awaiting Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium, where he will provide clues about the pace of future rate hikes and whether the central bank can achieve a soft landing for the economy.

Another factor for today's fall is the monthly expiry. Investors adjusted their positions amid the F&O expiry for the August derivatives series.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 311 points (down 0.5%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 87 points (down 0.5%).

Maruti Suzuki, SBI, and Dr Reddy's Labs were among the top gainers today.

Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, and IndusInd Bank, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 17,566, up by 45 points, at the time of writing.

Broader markets ended on a positive note. Both, the BSE Midcap index and the BSE Smallcap index ended higher by 0.2%.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the realty sector and consumer durables sector witnessing maximum buying.

On the other hand, stocks in the IT and FMCG sector witnessed selling pressure.

Shares of Thermax, Grindwell Norton, and Bank of Baroda hit their 52-week highs today.

Shares of Tejas Networks were in focus today, having gained 13% in past seven trading sessions. 

Reliance, Bajaj Finance, and HDFC Bank were among the most active shares on the BSE today.

Asian stock markets ended on a strong note. The Nikkei ended the day higher by 0.6%, while the Hang Seng inched higher by 3.6%. The Shanghai Composite ended 1% higher.

The rupee is trading at 79.9 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading up by 0.7% at Rs 51,785 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading higher by 1.1% at Rs 55,555 per kg.

In news from the energy sector, Indian Oil Corporation's share price was among the top buzzing stocks today.

Indian Oil Corporation, the country's top refiner, plans to invest more than US$ 25 bn to achieve net-zero emissions from its operation by 2046.

India, one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters, is aiming to reach net-zero emissions for the country by 2070.

The company is planning to invest about over Rs 2 tn to mitigate emissions to about 0.7 bn metric tons of carbon dioxide a year by then.

IOC is also targeting to replace at least a tenth of its current fossil-fuel-based hydrogen at its refineries with carbon-free green hydrogen as part of a decarbonization drive.

The company is setting up green hydrogen plants at its Panipat and Mathura refineries.

As part of its decarbonization drive, IOC is looking to replace hydrogen made by unabated fossil fuels with green hydrogen.

Commenting on the investment, S M Vaidya, Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation said:

The company is embarking on a decarbonisation journey that will be crucial not only for the company's destiny but also for the planet. On the 99th year of India's independence (2046), Indian Oil will be operationally independent of emission.

The company is targeting to decarbonize its refineries and petrochemical complexes, which account for 97% of its operation.

The company is also exploring multiple hydrogen production pathways, including solar electrolysis, biomass gasification, and bio-methanation.

IOC share price may be falling now but it stands to enjoy the benefits from the green hydrogen shift in the long run.

IOC shares have been under pressure in 2022 owing to marketing margin concerns, and weak quarterly results.

Moving on to news from the real estate sector, shares of PSP Projects jumped 6% today.

PSP Projects jumped today on bagging orders worth Rs 2.5 bn from precast and government segments.

Earlier in the month of July 2022, PSP Projects had secured new work orders worth Rs 2.6 bn.

The company has secured contract development of Ahmedabad Airport worth Rs 1.3 bn, a pharmaceutical project worth Rs 989.9 m respectively, and the remaining orders worth Rs 302.6 m is from the precast segment. Hence the total work order received during the financial year 2023 till the date amounts to Rs 8.1 bn.

The company during the exchange filing said:

With the receipt of the above, the total order inflow for the financial year 2022-23 till date amounts to Rs 13.4 bn.

PSP is one of the prominent contractors offering a diversified range of construction and allied services. Its focus remains on industrial, institutional, government, government residential, and residential projects

PSP Projects has been consistently paying dividends since 2017. The low debt-equity ratio is another feather in the company's hat.

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