After making a flat opening, Indian share markets erased gains in the last hour of trading as profit booking in financial and FMCG stocks weighed on bourses.

Benchmark indices ended flat. Investors remained cautious ahead of the start of the earnings season. This week some heavyweights will be declaring their quarterly figures.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 14 points.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed up by 11 points (up 0.1%).

HDFC Bank and Reliance were among the top gainers today.

HUL and Bajaj Finance, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 17,681 down by 35 points, at the time of writing.

Broader markets ended on a positive note with the BSE Midcap index ending 0.4% higher and the BSE Smallcap index ending 0.2% higher.

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

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

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

Asian stock markets ended on a mixed note. The Nikkei rose 0.4%, while the Hang Seng trades flat. The Shanghai Composite ended 0.3% lower.

The rupee is trading at 81.9 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading lower by 0.3% at Rs 60,339 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading higher by 0.1% at Rs 74,655 per kg.

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...

Speaking of stock markets, projecting a company's position and market share 10 years out or for that matter even 10 months ahead isn't an exact science.

However, with an unchallenged dominance in a particular segment, investors can look at certain companies which are unlikely to lose their leadership anytime soon and potentially find likely winners.
 

Why L&T share price hits record high today

In news from the engineering sector, shares of Larsen and Toubro (L&T) gained 2% to hit a record high on Monday after the engineering and construction major emerged as the lowest bidder for the redevelopment of the New Delhi railway station.

L&T submitted a bid of Rs 87 .4 billion (bn) for the New Delhi Station redevelopment project, which is over Rs 30 bn higher than the Centre's estimate, as per media reports.

The redevelopment project is a flagship program of the Government of India and the RLDA, a statutory authority under the Ministry of Railways.

It also secured an order under its AdVENT (Advanced Value Engineering and Technology) business vertical today.

The order is for license plus engineering, procurement, and construction (L - EPC) of a Technical Ammonium Nitrate (TAN) plant along with Weak Nitric Acid (WNA) plant at Gadepan.

The stock of the capital goods company quoted higher for the sixth straight day and rallied 9%, during this period, on a strong business outlook.

L&T has been an investor's favorite stock for a long time and also a stock that makes it to the top 5 infrastructure stocks.
 

Bajaj Auto takes over Triumph India's operation

Moving on to news from the automobile sector, Bajaj Auto on Monday completed the transfer of Triumph's India sales and marketing operations to Bajaj Auto.

The transfer is linked to an announcement made in 2020, where a strategic partnership was announced between the two companies, to create a new range of mid-sized Triumph Motorcycles.

With this transfer of Triumph's distribution operations to Bajaj Auto, both companies will look forward to timings for the launch of jointly developed new mid-sized Triumph motorcycles.

These motorcycles will be developed at Bajaj Auto's Chakan plant.

Bajaj Auto plans to launch Triumph dealerships in over 120 cities in the next two years. These new showrooms will be created in line with Triumph's global standards.

Triumph's operations will be the fifth separate dealer under the Bajaj name, joining KTM, Chetak Electric, and Bajaj's two-wheeler and three-wheeler businesses.

Furthermore, the company is planning to sell 10,000 electric vehicle units per month eventually in the next 3-6 months, which is a significant target in India's growing EV market.

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.
 

Nifty realty index soars on strong Q4 sales

Moving on to news from the realty sector, record provisional sales posted by several real estate developers during the March quarter triggered buying in realty stocks on Monday, driving the Nifty Realty index up nearly 4% today.

Shares of DLF, Sobha, Godrej Properties, Macrotech Developers, Oberoi Realty, and Brigade Enterprises were trading rose upto 8% today.

With several developers posting their business updates, Sobha has achieved its highest-ever quarterly sales value at Rs 14.6 bn, up 32% YoY. It has clocked the highest-ever annual sales of Rs 51.9 bn, with an average price realization of Rs 9,200 per square foot.

Even Godrej Properties recorded its highest-ever quarterly and annual project deliveries in March 2023 quarter on the back of an improvement in the project mix.

Ajmera Realty also reported its best-ever yearly sales performance clocking 93% YoY growth in the financial year 2023.

The real estate sector was reeling under pressure due to high inflation, mortgage rates, and increasing input costs. Plus, the hike in interest rates by the Reserve Bank of India added to the woes faced by the developers.

However, the recent rate hike pause by the central bank has improved sentiment for the sector.

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