It was indeed a volatile day for Indian share markets today as benchmark indices swung between gains and losses.

Indian share markets opened on a negative note and soon after opening, they fell sharply. The Sensex fell over 700 points.

As the session progressed, benchmark indices recovered to end on a positive note amid buying seen in metal and auto stocks.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 257 points (up 0.4%).

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

Mahindra & Mahindra, Eicher Motors, and Titan were among the top gainers today.

Infosys, TCS, and Divis Lab, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 17,608, up by 118 points, at the time of writing.

Broader markets ended on a positive note. The BSE Midcap index ended up by 1% while the BSE Smallcap index ended higher by 0.7%.

All sectoral indices except IT ended on a positive note with stocks in the metal sector, auto sector, and energy sector witnessing maximum buying.

Shares of Adani Transmission, Eicher Motors, and Solar Industries hit their 52-week highs today.

Jubilant Foodwork's share price was in focus today as it rose 3% following a steep fall in recent days.

Reliance, Bajaj Finserv, and ICICI Bank were among the most active shares on the BSE today.

Asian stock markets ended on a negative note. The Nikkei ended the day lower by 1.2%, while the Hang Seng inched lower by 0.8%. The Shanghai Composite ended 0.1% lower.

The rupee is trading at 80.3 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading down by 0.1% at Rs 51,150 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading down by 0.2% at Rs 54,864 per kg.

Of late, the gold price is falling while silver isn't far behind. Silver price is also falling as industrial demand for silver is under pressure while a stronger US dollar is adding to worries.

Once the Fed signals an end to the rate hikes (or hints at it) and when investors are confident the US economy will emerge from the recession, that's when we see gold and silver prices recovering.

In news from the defense sector, the share price of Bharat Electronics gained 3% today.

State-run NHPC has partnered with defense PSU Bharat Electronics.

NHPC today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for setting up of vertically integrated solar manufacturing unit.

The company manufactures a range of specialized electronic products for the military as well as non-military use.

BEL has 9 states of the art manufacturing facilities to cater to the requirements of its clients.

For the June quarter of 2022, BEL's revenue and net profit grew by a whopping 90.2% and 2,618% year on year (YoY) respectively. This was mainly due to improved order execution.

Bharat Electronics is a fundamentally strong company with good return ratios, zero debt, and strong debt coverage metrics.

It is also among the top defense stocks in India with big growth stories.

Speaking of the defense sector, note that finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced in her Budget of 2022-23 that the defense research and development space will be opened up for the industry, start-ups, and academia and 25% of the defense R&D budget has also been earmarked for this purpose.

The Indian government is likely to spend a massive US$130 bn over the next 7-8 years on the modernization of the armed forces.

This has given a big boost to the indigenization of defense procurement.

Increasing Budget Allocation to Defense (in US $ billion)

The increase in budgetary allocation, along with other factors, will ensure that India's top defense stocks remain in the limelight for the foreseeable future.

Moving on the news from the FMCG sector, shares of Devyani International tanked 7% intraday today.

The shares fell to Rs 182.5 intraday trade after over 2% of the total equity of the restaurant company changed hands via block deals.

Mauritius-based Dunearn Investment is likely to have sold a 3% stake. It currently holds a 16.3% stake in Devyani International.

Devyani is the largest franchisee of Yum Brands in India and one of the top operators of chain quick-service restaurants (QSRs).

Devyani also has a franchisee for the Costa Coffee brand and stores in India.

The company's aim is to continue developing its store footprint across the Core Brands with a focus on unit-level performance.

It is to increase its Core Brands delivery business and invest in technology to enhance its digital competence.

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