After opening the day on a muted note, Indian share markets recouped the losses in the second half and ended with marginal gains.

Benchmark indices ended marginally higher for the third straight trading session led by gains in index heavyweight Reliance Industries, FMCG, and metal stocks. The indices gyrated in a narrow band as investors remained cautious ahead of the US Fed meeting outcome later tonight.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 85 points (up 0.1%).

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

HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, and ICICI Bank were among the top gainers today.

Tata Steel, Grasim, and JSW Steel, 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 18,829, up by 44 points, at the time of writing.

Broader markets ended on a positive note. The BSE Midcap index ended marginally higher while the BSE SmallCap rose by 0.4%.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the metal sector, Oil & gas sector, and power sector witnessing the most buying.

While stocks in the financial sector and banking sector witnessed selling.

Shares of ABB India and JK Cement 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 positive note. The Nikkei ended higher by 1.5%, while the Hang Seng ended lower by 0.6%. The Shanghai Composite ended marginally higher.

The rupee is trading at 82.1 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading flat at Rs 59,273 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading 0.4% higher at Rs 72,375 per kg.
 

Vodafone Idea's revival plan

In news from the telecom sector, shares of Vodafone Idea jumped 5% today after a reported infusion plan of Rs 140 billion (bn) for revival.

Vodafone Idea is planning a significant capital infusion with Aditya Birla Group and UK's Vodafone Group contributing half of the amount, as part of its business revival plan.

ABG and Vodafone Group are expected to invest Rs 20 bn as fresh equity, on top of the Rs 50 bn capital already invested in the company after the telecom revival package in September 2021. They will also work to raise another Rs 70 bn from external investors.

The delay in increasing headline tariffs due to upcoming state and general elections next year is expected to negatively impact all three major carriers in India - Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone Idea. Among them, Vodafone Idea is predicted to suffer the most.

According to the media reports, without a tariff hike or a fundraising effort, the fiscal year 2024 will be challenging for the third-ranked telco.

Vodafone Idea is among India's leading telecom service providers.

The company provides pan India voice and data services across 2G, 3G, and 4G platforms.

Vodafone Idea shares have declined by more than 12% in March 2023. 
 

Dhampur Sugar Mills shares gain. Here's why...

Moving on to news from the sugar sector, shares of Dhampur Sugar Mills jumped 2% today, a day after the company completed the expansion of its distillery and commissioned the new capacity.

The new capacity was commissioned on 13 June 2023.

This enhanced capacity would be interchangeable between molasses, syrup, and grain, which would allow better utilization of distillery capacity.

With strategies in place, such as scaling up the ethanol business, better productivity in the sugar segment, and reducing manufacturing costs, the company's revenue and net profit are expected to clock CAGR growth of 12% and 21%, respectively.

Dhampur Sugar Mills is an India-based integrated sugarcane processing company engaged in the manufacturing and selling of sugar, green energy, and chemicals.

With a strong focus on ethanol going ahead, it is among the top 4 ethanol stocks to watch out in 2023.
 

Why Vedanta share price is rising

Moving on to news from the mining sector, shares of Vedanta rose 2% after the Anil Agarwal-owned company received a royalty payment from subsidiary Hindustan Zinc.

Hindustan Zinc paid a royalty of 1.7% of the annual revenue to Vedanta, which was passed on to the UK-based holding company Vedanta Resources.

In the first quarter, locally listed Vedanta paid a higher royalty fee of 3% against last year's 2%.

Vedanta Resources used the royalty fee to help redeem US$ 500 million (m), 7.1% bonds due on 31 May 2023.

A royalty payment is made by a third party to the owner of the patent or a brand for using that product or the brand. This is the first time Hindustan Zinc has paid a royalty.

By forming a recent joint venture with Foxconn to manufacture semiconductor chips, the company has made its space among India's top 5 semiconductor stocks.

Also, as China tries to move up the technology supply chain with advanced chips, the US is getting wary, which makes semiconductors the top Indian megatrends.

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