After opening the day on a positive note, Indian share markets continued their momentum as the session progressed and ended the day 0.6% higher.

Benchmark indices ended higher led by FMCG stocks ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy decision and on hopes of an interest rate pause by other major central banks.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 350 points (up 0.6%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 127 points (up 0.7%).

Britannia, BPCL, and Nestle were among the top gainers today.

Cipla, M&M, and Maruti Suzuki on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

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

The SGX Nifty was trading at 18,814, up by 135 points, at the time of writing.

Broader markets ended on a positive note. The BSE Midcap index and BSE SmallCap ended 1.1% higher.

All sectoral indices ended higher with stocks in the metal sector, capital goods sector, and realty sector witnessing most of the buying.

Shares of Nestle and Bajaj Auto hit their 52-week highs 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...

Asian stock markets ended on a mixed note. The Nikkei ended lower by 1.8%. while the Hang Seng ended 0.8% higher. The Shanghai Composite ended flat.

The rupee is trading at 82.53 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading flat at Rs 59,985 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading marginally higher at Rs 72,059 per kg.
 

Why HAL share price surged 3% today

In news from the defense sector, shares of Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) surged 3% today as General Electric (GE) will reportedly be entering into a pact with HAL to co-produce jet engines in India.

The technology will power India's fighter jet program once the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is operationalized.

The Biden administration has given permission for GE to co-produce the engines in India ahead of PM Modi's visit to the US later this month.

GE and HAL had agreed to manufacture jet engines in 2012, but the deal could not take off as the government wanted higher levels of technology transfer, as per the report.

An agreement on higher levels of technology transfer has been agreed upon, no other ally has this kind of an agreement with the US.

Modalities of technology transfer, timelines, and payment mechanisms are being discussed before the final agreement is inked during the Prime Minister's visit to Washington DC between 21 and 24 June 2023.

HAL is among the top defense stocks in India having a monopoly in certain segments.

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 the defense production to US$ 25 bn by 2025.

We believe the defense sector could produce the next set of multibagger stocks over the long run.
 

Why Tata Consumer share price is rising

Moving on to news from the FMCG sector, Tata Consumer Products' share price gained over 2.5% a day after the company announced its plan of expanding into new categories in the annual general meeting.

In November 2022, the company was in talks to buy Bisleri, which did not materialize.

The management expects India's business growth will continue to outpace that of the international market, with the percentage of revenue from the Indian market set to increase.

The company believes that India's business has a higher margin, especially the branded businesses.

Last year, the company launched 34 products. Currently, TCPL's branded tea contributes 47% to the total revenue, primarily driven by the Indian market, while coffee contributes 11% and is dominated by the international business. To drive growth, the company has allocated a capex plan of Rs 4 billion (bn).

With a diverse portfolio, Tata Consumer is among the top FMCG companies by growth.
 

Venus Remedies gets GMP approval

Moving on to news from the pharma sector, pharma major Venus Remedies, on Wednesday, received good manufacturing practices (GMP) certification from Ukraine for its Carbapenem and oncology production facilities in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh.

Granted by the State Service of Ukraine on Medicine and Drug Control (SMDC), this certification is expected to pave the way for GMP certifications for Venus Remedies from the European medicine's agency.

This international GMP approval will also enable the company to expand its product portfolio globally with more marketing authorizations not only from Ukraine, which happens to be one of the largest pharmaceutical markets in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) with a worth of US$ 5 bn.

Notably, India is the second largest exporter of pharma products to Ukraine after Germany.

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