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

Benchmark indices edged higher today on the back of consistent buying support in index heavyweights Reliance, ITC, and Infosys.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 454 points (up 0.8%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 121 points (up 0.7%).

Reliance Industries and Divi's Laboratories were among the top gainers today.

Maruti Suzuki and Britannia Industries, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 17,583, up by 175 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index ended up by 0.7% and 0.9%, respectively.

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

Capital goods and auto stocks, on the other hand, witnessed selling pressure.

Shares of Raymond and TCI Express hit their respective 52-week highs today.

Asian stock markets ended on a mixed note today.

The Hang Seng ended up by 0.2%, while the Shanghai Composite ended down by 0.2%. 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 65 points.

The rupee is trading at 74.51 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading up by 0.2% at Rs 47,542 per 10 grams.

In news from the FMCG sector, ITC was among the top buzzing stocks today.

Shares of ITC gained over 1.7% today after the FMCG major said that it has initiated clinical trials for developing a nasal spray for Covid-19 prevention. The company plans to market the nasal spray under the 'Savlon' brand.

However, the ITC spokesperson declined to comment on where the clinical trial is being done, where the commercial production would be done when approved, and under what brand the nasal spray would be marketed.

ITC had received approvals from ethics committees and is registered with clinical trial registry-India (CTRI) for clinical trials of the nasal spray which is designed to arrest the virus at the entry point in the nasal cavity itself.

Developed by scientists at ITC Life Sciences and Technology Centre (LSTC), Bengaluru, sources say the product has the potential to be effective and safe in preventing infection and transmission of Covid-19 along with the existing measures of hygiene recommended by health authorities.

ITC's LSTC has been at the core of the company's drive for science-led product innovation to support and build its wide range of product portfolios.

The company's research and development (R&D) teams were instrumental in developing a range of innovative health and hygiene offerings that were commercially made available under the Savlon brand, during the pandemic.

ITC's share price ended the day up by 1.5% on the BSE.

Speaking of the FMCG sector, have a look at the chart below which shows the performance of BSE Sensex and BSE FMCG index since 2009:

While Sensex has offered 393% returns since 2009, the BSE FMCG index has gone up a staggering 532% returns over the same period.

Moving on to news from the energy sector...

Reliance Industries Rallies 6% as Firm to Restructure, Repurpose Gasification Assets

Reliance Industries (RIL) shares surged 6% today after its board decided to implement a scheme of arrangement to transfer Gasification Undertaking into a wholly-owned subsidiary.

It has decided to implement a scheme of arrangement between Reliance and its shareholders and creditors; and Reliance Syngas (RSL) and its shareholders and creditors.

RSL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance. It has invested Rs 1 m in cash in 1 lakh equity shares of Rs 10 each of RSL.

The gasification project at Jamnagar was set up with the objective to produce syngas to meet the energy requirements as refinery off-gases, which earlier served as fuel, were repurposed into feedstock for the refinery of gas cracker (ROGC).

This enables the production of olefins at competitive capital and operating costs. Syngas as a fuel ensures the reliability of supply and helps reduce volatility in energy costs. Syngas is also used to produce Hydrogen for consumption in the Jamnagar refinery.

Reliance mentioned that the appointed date of the scheme would be 31 March 2022 or such other date as may be determined by the board.

The scheme will require the approval of stock exchanges, creditors, shareholders, NCLT, and other regulatory authorities.

Earlier this week, the Reliance stock had plunged as much as 4.2% on Monday as the country's largest firm decided to halt a stake sale in its oil-to-chemicals business (O2C) to Saudi Arabia's Aramco and pulled back from a potential spinoff of its most profitable unit.

Reliance Industries' share price ended the day up by 6% on the BSE.