Indian share markets witnessed negative trading activity throughout the day today and ended on a weak note.

Global headwinds weighed on benchmark indices for fourth straight day today as all sectors, barring FMCG, slid into the negative territory.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 427 points (down 0.7%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 140 points (down 0.8%).

Photo by Naveed Ahmed on Unsplash

Bajaj Auto and Hindustan Unilever were among the top gainers today.

Bajaj Finserv and Tech Mahindra, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 17,642, down by 159 points, at the time of writing.

Both, the BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index ended down by 2%.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the telecom sector, realty sector and consumer durables sector witnessing selling pressure.

Shares of ABB Power Products and Shoppers Stop hit their respective 52-week highs today.

Asian stock markets ended on a negative note today. Both, the Nikkei and the Shanghai Composite ended down by 0.9%, while the Hang Seng ended on a flat note.

US stock futures are trading on a positive note today with the Dow Futures trading up by 53 points.

The rupee is trading at 74.42 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading down by 0.2% at Rs 48,289 per 10 grams.

In news from the insurance sector, HDFC Life Insurance was among the top buzzing stocks today.

HDFC Life Insurance Company today said its standalone net profit for the quarter ended December rose 3.2% to Rs 2.7 bn from Rs 2.6 bn in the same quarter last year.

The company said its net premium income rose 27.79 per cent year on year (YoY) to Rs 121.2 bn from Rs 94.9 bn in the same quarter a year ago.

'Business sentiment remains positive and the high-frequency indicators suggest economic revival is on track. We are optimistic about the sustenance of business momentum in the months to come,' said Vibha Padalkar, MD & CEO, HDFC Life Insurance.

The company said its board also approved merging Exide Life Insurance with it.

In the nine-month ended December, the company said its profit stood at Rs 8.5 bn, 18% lower than last year, primarily due to elevated claims during the pandemic and reserving for excess mortality.

Mr. Vibha Padalkar added,

• We continued to deliver consistent and robust growth of 21% in the first nine months of the fiscal 2022, resulting in a private market share of 15.2% in terms of individual WRP.
  
  On a 2-year CAGR basis, we registered a growth of 14%, compared to a 5% growth for the overall life insurance industry, whilst maintaining a balanced and profitable product mix.

HDFC Life Insurance share price ended the day down by 1% on the BSE.

The buying from Bansal came amid SMIL Isuzu's stock rising nearly 13% in the three-month period ended December.

Shares of commercial vehicle makers have been in demand owing to improvement in volumes seen by them. Demand for commercial vehicles has been boosted by the pick-up in domestic economic activity.

SML Isuzu has reported a 68% YoY growth in unit sales to 4,706 units in April-December of the current financial year. The company's cargo vehicles have grown 65% in the nine-month period ended December while passenger vehicles have risen 80% during the same period.

Sachin Bansal is an Indian entrepreneur. He is best known as the co-founder of Flipkart, that was acquired by Walmart at US$16 bn in 2018. During his over 11-year career at Flipkart, Bansal was CEO and chairman. In 2018, Bansal exited Flipkart following the Walmart deal.

SML Isuzu share price ended the day down by 5% on the BSE.