After opening on a strong note, Indian share markets pared gains as the session progressed and ended marginally higher.

Benchmark indices took positive cues from the global market, where stocks rose as investors digested the hawkish remark from the Fed and the ECB's biggest-ever hike in its key interest rate.

Adding to sentiment were falling crude oil prices and a decline in domestic bond yields.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 104 points.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed up by 34 points.

Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, and Infosys were among the top gainers today.

UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra, and HDFC Life, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 17,852, up by 32 points, at the time of writing.

The broader markets ended on a mixed note. The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index ended higher by 0.2%.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the IT sector, and the metal sector witnessing most of the buying.

On the other hand, stocks in the telecom sector, power sector, and realty sector witnessed selling pressure.

Metal stocks were falling for months but now the scenario has changed. The top metal stocks in India are what you should look at as they will be prime beneficiaries of any PLI scheme.

Shares of Bajaj Holdings & Investment, Vinati Organics, and SKF India hit their 52-week high today.

Outside the home ground, Asian share markets ended on a strong note.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei ended on a positive note up by 0.5% while the Hang Seng jumped 2.7%. The Shanghai Composite ended higher by 0.8%.

US stock futures are trading on a positive note with Dow Jones futures trading up by 0.7%.

The rupee is trading at 79.5 against the US$.

Gold prices are currently trading up by 0.6% at Rs 50,356 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading higher by 1.2% at Rs 54,281 per kg.

In news from the power sector, NTPC share price was in focus today.

NTPC gains 1.5% after ink pact with Indian Army to supply renewable energy.

NTPC shares hovered near an all-time high today as the Army's Western Command today signed a long-term agreement with NTPC to draw 25 MW of solar power directly from the national solar grid of the country for the next 27 years.

This marks the first agreement by the Indian Armed Forces to source power from renewable energy.

Under the deal, NTPC will supply to the Military Engineering Services, a construction, and maintenance agency, and one of the pillars of the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army that provides rear-line engineering support to the Armed Forces.

The solar energy provided to Western Command will be sourced from Sholapur in Maharashtra.

Apart from accruing substantial savings to the exchequer, the move will also decarbonize up to 38% of the energy portfolio of the Western Command.

This initiative aligns the command to the National Solar Mission of the government and weans it away from archaic coal-based thermal energy being provisioned so far at higher tariffs.

NTPC is one of the leading green hydrogen companies in India.

It also plans to set up its first green hydrogen fuelling station in Leh, Ladakh. It will ply 5 hydrogen buses, to start with.

Despite the prevailing market volatility, NTPC's share price has gained 32.7% on a YTD basis. Have a look at its YTD performance.

Moving on to news from the engineering sector, PNC Infratech was among the top buzzing stocks today.

PNC Infratech signed a concession agreement between NHAI and Sonauli Gorakhpur Highways, a Special Purpose Vehicle incorporated by the company to implement the Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) project.

The Rs 14.6 bn Uttar Pradesh highway construction project is around 79 kilometers in length and is estimated to be constructed in 24 months, upon an appointed date, and operated for 15 years, post-construction.

Commenting on it, PNC Infratech in exchange filling said,

PNC Infratech Limited informs of signing of concession agreement between National Highways Authority of India and the Special Purpose Vehicle incorporated by the Company for implementation of the following HAM project package on 8 September 2022.

The management has retained their revenue growth guidance at 15% for FY23 on the back of a healthy pace of execution and hopes of higher supply orders from Uttar Pradesh.

Besides, the company foresees margins in the range of 13 to 13.5% in FY23 post moderation of key input prices.  It expects an order inflow of Rs 1 bn in 2023.

PNC Infratech Limited is a smallcap company in India. It is engaged in India's infrastructure development through the construction of highways including BOT (built operation and transfer projects) airport runways bridges flyovers and power transmission projects among others.

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