After making a flat start, Indian share markets spent the better part of the day in red but picked up the pace at the fag-end of the session as buying in financial shares joined auto stocks.

Benchmark indices remained muted for most of the day yesterday on the back of rising inflation concerns due to a surge in oil prices.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 115 points (up 0.2%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 40 points (up 0.2%).

Coal India, Maruti Suzuki, and Bajaj Auto were among the top gainers today.

BPCL, ITC, and Infosys on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 17,461 up by 44 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE Midcap index rose 0.4% while the BSE SmallCap index ended 1.2% higher.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the auto sector, and the telecom sector witnessing most of the buying.

On the other hand, stocks from the FMCG sector, and IT sector witnessed selling pressure.

Shares of Bosch and Sonata Software hit their 52-week high today.

Now track the biggest movers of the stock market using the stocks to watch today section. This should help you keep updated with the latest developments...

Outside the home ground, Asian share markets ended on a positive note.

At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei ended 0.5% higher, while the Hang Seng ended flat. The Shanghai Composite ended higher by 0.7%.

The rupee is trading at 82.34 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading 0.1% lower at Rs 59,571 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading down by 0.5% at Rs 71,847 per kg.
 

M&M's March sales peak

In news from the automobile sector, shares of automaker Mahindra & Mahindra inched higher by 1% as investors cheered the company's highest-ever monthly auto sales during March.

The company recorded its highest-ever total auto sales of 66,091 units in March, up 21% YoY from 56,643 units a year ago.

Passenger vehicle sales grew 30% YoY on year to 35,997 units, while three-wheelers sales jumped 41% YoY to 5,697 units from 4,043 units a year ago.

The company also posted strong growth of 18% YoY in the tractor segment as it sold 35,014 units in March. The rise in tractor sales can be accounted for the recovery in the segment post the slump witnessed in recent years.

For the financial year 2023, the automaker saw a 59% YoY jump in total sales of passenger vehicles which stood at 359,253 units against 225,895 units a year back.

Note that M&M has announced its commitment of over a billion dollars to aggressively participate in the EV race and it expects a significant 30% of its total sales to come from electric SUVs by 2027.

The electric vehicle (EV) megatrend is a once-in-a-century revolution happening right in front of us.

The revolution has taken the auto sector by storm. All segments of the sector are ripe for disruption, and India's top EV stocks are set to benefit from this shift.

Take a look at the chart below, which shows the massive opportunity in the two-wheeler EVs.

It remains to be seen how the above developments pan out.
 

Tejas Network's largest order win

Moving on to news from the IT sector, Tejas Network on Monday received an order worth Rs 6.9 billion (bn) from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for the upgradation of its all-India IP-MPLS based Access and Aggregation Network (MAAN).

The company won this order while competing against top-tier global vendors in an open tender, after being technically shortlisted and upon submitting the lowest commercial bid.

As part of this contract, Tejas Networks will supply, install and commission over 13,000 of its TJ1400 series of next-generation access and aggregation routers for realizing a converged multi-service packet network, being rolled out on a nationwide basis.

Tejas Networks is among the earliest telecom product companies that have built homegrown technology products in networking and optical backhaul crucial for high-speed broadband.

The company's products are also used in defense communication networks and by utility companies.

Ever since the announcement of Tata group acquiring a controlling stake in Tejas Networks to help it access 5G technology, its shares have been on a roll.

With over 38% share price rise in 2022, it is among the biggest gainers of Tata group stock in 2022.

Why Adani Group stocks are falling once again

Moving on, shares of Adani Group companies fell today after a Reuters article on a probe by the regulator into a potential breach of regulations on related party transactions.

The investigation pertains to the Adani Group transactions with at least three overseas entities connected to founder Gautam Adani's brother Vinod Adani.

The three offshore entities in question have reportedly been engaged in multiple investment dealings with unlisted subsidiaries of the ports-to-power conglomerate over 13 years.

The market regulator is investigating whether the failure to disclose these connections constitutes a breach of regulations governing related-party transactions.

Following the reports, shares of Adani stocks fell up to 3% today.

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