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

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 303 points, up 0.6% at 51,418 levels.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading up by 100 points.

Reliance and Grasim Industries are among the top gainers today. Sun Pharmaceuticals and Mahindra & Mahindra are among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.4%.

The BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.2%.

On the sectoral front, stocks from the energy sector, are witnessing most of the buying interest.

On the other hand, stocks from the healthcare and power sector, are witnessing most of the selling pressure.

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

Nasdaq Futures are trading up by 4 points (flat) while Dow Futures are trading up by 153 points (up 0.4%)

The rupee is trading at 72.4 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.6% at Rs 48,315 per 10 grams.

Gold prices fell for the third day in a row today. On MCX, gold futures dipped 0.3% to Rs 48,460 per 10 grams. In the previous session, gold had dipped 0.4%.

Note that despite the recent slide, gold is one of the best-performing commodities this month.

Moving on to stock-specific news...

Among the buzzing stocks, today is Hester Biosciences.

Hester Biosciences shares surged as much as 14% in intra-day trade today after the pharma firm signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with vaccine maker Bharat Biotech and Gujarat Covid Vaccine Consortium (GCVC) for contract manufacturing the drug substance for Covaxin.

GCVC comprises Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC), Hester Biosciences, and Omnibrx Biotechnologies.

According to the MoU, Bharat Biotech will provide the technology for the production of the drug substance for Covaxin, and GBRC will act as an advisor and mentor and will facilitate the technology transfer from Bharat Biotech, Hester said in a filing.

Hester will provide the complete infrastructure at its Gujarat plant for the manufacturing of the drug substance and Omnibrx will act as a technology support partner, the filing said.

Hester has estimated an outlay of Rs 400 m for this project. The entire process is facilitated by the Department of Biotechnology, the company said.

If everything goes as per the plan, then bulk production of this drug substance will begin from August 2021. This will be then supplied back to Bharat Biotech for producing vaccine doses, it noted.

Hester Biosciences is a leading player in the animal healthcare segment. It is the second-largest poultry vaccine manufacturer in the country. Only three vaccines have so far been approved to be sold in India - Covaxin, Covishield, and Sputnik V.

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

At the time of writing, shares of Hester Biosciences were trading up by 5.7% on the BSE.

Speaking of the stock markets, India's #1 trader, Vijay Bhambwani shares why he thinks the bull market in crude oil is not sustainable, in his latest video for Fast Profits Daily.

Tune in here to find out more:

In news from the engineering sector...

Dixon Technologies Q4FY21 Results: Net Profit Surges 60% YoY

Dixon Technologies reported a 60% year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated net profit for the quarter ended March at Rs 443 m, which was below analysts' estimates of Rs 516 m.

The company's consolidated revenue from operations also rose 146% YoY to Rs 21.2 bn.

During the quarter, the operating performance of the company was strong as consolidated EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) jumped 45% YoY to Rs 808 m. However, the company's EBITDA margins contracted sharply to 3.8% from 6.5% due to higher input costs.

The company's consumer electronics continued to be the highest-grossing segment, which contributed 56% of the company's total revenue, followed by lightning products which accounted for 18%, and the home appliances and mobile division which contributed 7% and 14% respectively.

The company's board also approved a final dividend of Rs 1 per share for the financial year ended March.

How the company performs in the next quarter remains to be seen. Meanwhile, stay tuned for more updates from this space.

Speaking of stocks, here's a pattern that if you see, you must sell your position. After all, exits are more important than entries.

In the chart below, we can see the head and shoulder pattern - the stock goes up, makes a high, falls a little bit, goes up to a higher high, does not make a higher low, rallies again fails to make a new high, and then starts to break down.

This usually happens in a situation where a stock or index has typically been in a bull trend for a while. Spotting this correctly can help you save money.