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After opening the day on a negative note, the Indian share market erased the early losses as the session progressed and ended higher.

Defying weak global trends, the domestic equity indices settled in the positive zone on Wednesday as strength in the IT, auto, and select financial and pharma stocks helped erase early morning losses.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 138 points (up 0.2%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 30 points (up 0.2%).

NTPC and Infosys were among the top gainers today.

Tata Steel and Hindalco were among the top losers today.

Check out the NSE Nifty heatmap to get the complete list of gainers and losers.

The Gift Nifty was trading at 19,458, down by 16 points, at the time of writing.

Broader markets ended on a positive note. The BSE Midcap index ended 0.3% higher and the BSE SmallCap index rose 0.5%.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the power sector and realty sector witnessing most of the buying.

On the other hand, stocks from the metal sector and telecom sector witnessed selling pressure.

Shares of Trent and L&T hit their 52-week highs today.

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

Asian share markets ended on a mixed note. The Nikkei and Hang Seng ended 1.4% lower while the Shanghai Composite ended 0.8% lower.

The rupee is trading at 83.24 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading lower at Rs 58,857 per 10 grams.
 

Cochin Shipyard Zoom up to 19%. Here's why.

In news from the defense sector, shares of defense PSU firm Cochin Shipyard Zoomed up to 19% in Wednesday's trade on BSE after the firms reported strong June quarter results.

The firm reported a 135% year-on-year (YoY) jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 986.5 m, compared to Rs 420 m in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

Revenue from operations, meanwhile, rose 7.9% YoY to Rs 4.8 bn for the quarter under review as against Rs 4.4 bn in the year-ago quarter.

The company reported an EBITDA of Rs 787 m for the June quarter. Meanwhile, margins during the quarter came in at 16.5%.

Speaking of the defense sector, note that the government's Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan has emphasized the need for self-reliance in security space.

Given the increasing focus on self-reliance, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) has set a target of doubling defense production to US$ 25 bn by 2025. To boost this, the Indian government is likely to spend a massive US$130 bn over the next 7-8 years on the modernization of the armed forces.

The increase in budgetary allocation, along with other factors, will ensure that India's top defense stocks remain in the limelight for the foreseeable future.

That is why we believe that the defense sector could produce the next set of multibagger stocks over the long run.

Cochin Shipyard is among the top 6 defense stocks with big growth stories.
 

Coal India capex rises

Moving on to news from the mining sector, Coal India's capital expenditure rose 8.5% during April-July this fiscal to Rs 47 bn as it continued to invest heavily in evacuation infrastructure, land, and mining machinery.

The capex spend during the first four months of the current fiscal year, which started in April, was almost 100% of the target of Rs 47.5 bn and 28.3% of the annual target of Rs 166 bn.

Typically, the capex starts slowing in the first quarter, with the company laying out the expenditure plans at the beginning of the fiscal and gradually building up in the subsequent quarters.

What makes the 8.5% capex growth in April-July FY24 significant as it came over a high base of Rs 43.3 bn of the same period in FY2023, the year when CIL's capex peaked at an all-time high of Rs 186.2 bn.

Coal India has been rising since the beginning of the month. 

The company, among the five government sector undertakings, has the highest revenue and profit growth. 
 

Aurobindo Pharma gets USFDA nod

Moving on news from the pharma sector, Aurobindo Pharma on Wednesday said its wholly-owned arm Eugia Pharma Specialities has received final approval from the US health regulator to manufacture and market generic Icatibant injection used in the treatment of hereditary angioedema.

The approval granted by the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) is for an Icatibant injection of strength 30 mg/3 mL, single-dose pre-filled syringe.

It is the bioequivalent and therapeutically equivalent of the reference listed drug FIRAZYR (Icatibant injection) by Takeda Pharmaceuticals US.

According to IQVIA data, the approved product has an estimated market size of around US$ 137 m for the 12 months ending June 2023.

Aurobindo Pharma is a top pharma company in India that have solid growth in sales and profits and a high Return on Equity (ROE).

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