Share markets in India are presently trading on a strong note.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 509 points, up 0.9%, at 56,634 levels.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading up by 158 points.

Tata Steel and Coal India are among the top gainers today. Tech Mahindra and Infosys are among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 1.6%

The BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 1.7%.

On the sectoral front, barring the software sector, all sectors are trading in green with stocks from the metal sector witnessing most of the buying interest.

US stock futures are trading higher today, indicating a positive opening for Wall Street.

Nasdaq Futures are trading up by 9 points (up 0.1%) while Dow Futures are trading up by 13 points (up 0.04%)

The rupee is trading at 73.49 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading down 0.3% at Rs 47,391 per 10 grams.

Gold prices edged lower in India amid a stronger rupee through global cues that were positive. On MCX, gold futures were down 0.2% to Rs 47,459 per 10 grams. In the previous session, gold had risen about Rs 300 to a near one-month high.

Note that the Indian rupee on Friday, 27 August jumped to its ten-week high against the US dollar, making gold imports cheaper in India. Gold prices in India include a 10.75% import duty and 3% GST.

Moving on to stock-specific news...

Among the buzzing stocks, today is L&T.

Shares of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) hit a record high of Rs 1,684.8, up 3% on BSE in intra-day trade today, after the company announced that its construction arm, L&T Construction, has bagged a slew of orders in India and abroad for its various businesses.

According to L&T's classification, the valuation of the orders lies between Rs 100 bn to Rs 250 bn.

L&T's buildings & factories business secured an order to construct multilevel parking and an advocates chamber for the High Court at Allahabad while the power transmission & distribution business bagged an order for the turnkey construction of a substation in Saudi Arabia.

The company's smart world & communication business also bagged a smart city project.

Note that L&T's core engineering and construction business remains best placed to benefit from any CAPEX upcycle, supported by its leaner asset-light business model and diversified segments.

Larsen & Toubro, commonly known as L&T, is an Indian multinational conglomerate, with business interests in engineering, construction, manufacturing, technology, and financial services.

We will keep you posted on more updates from this space. Stay tuned.

At the time of writing, L&T shares were trading up by 1.7% on the BSE.

Moving on to news from the software sector...

Nazara Technologies Acquires OpenPlay for Rs 1.9 bn

Gaming and sports media platform Nazara Technologies has acquired Hyderabad-based skill-based gaming company OpenPlay for about Rs 1.9 bn.

The acquisition is expected to help Nazara make further inroads into the real-money gaming sector. The listed entity is also eyeing more acquisitions in the space to fill gaps in its product and distribution lineups.

Nazara's business pivots around four verticals - gamified learning, e-sports, free-to-play mobile gaming, and real-money gaming.

While gamified learning and e-sports contribute around 81% to its revenue, with each bringing in upwards of Rs 2 bn, free-to-play mobile gaming is around 4% and real-money gaming is around 2% of the mix.

The company is looking at growing this category (real-money gaming) to Rs 1 bn over the next 12-18 months. With this acquisition, it expects the revenue mix to change, with real-money gaming contributing around 8-10% by the next 12-18 months.

Founded by serial entrepreneur Sreeram Reddy Vanga, OpenPlay operates a multi-game consumer gaming platform under the 'Classic Games' brand which hosts skill-based games.

Speaking of the stock markets, the right investing process can help you win in the long term. It might offer some unexpected and undesirable results in the short term but lets you farewell when you average the outcomes.

This compares favorably to the IRRs of 9.6% for the Sensex, and 8.8% for the smallcap index in the same period (February 2008 - June 2020) as can be seen in the chart below.

The service's performance did suffer in the short term after the 2018 crash in small caps. However, the long-term track record and the post-Covid rebound underscores the strength of the stock-picking process.