After opening the day on a negative note tracking weak global cues, Indian share markets staged a smart recovery as the session progressed and ended in green.

Benchmark indices ended higher as index heavyweight stocks witnessed buying in the last hour of trade.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 243 points (up 0.4%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 86 points (up 0.5%).

Tech Mahindra, Reliance, and Eicher Motors were among the top gainers today.

HUL, ITC, and Sun Pharma on the other hand were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 18,020, up by 93 points, at the time of writing.

Broader markets ended on a positive note. The BSE Midcap ended the day higher by 0.7% and the BSE SmallCap index ended by 0.4% higher.

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

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

Shares of Siemens, Cummins India, and Jindal Saw hit their 52-week high today.

The rupee is trading at 82.80 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading lower by 1% at Rs 56,169 per 10 grams.

In news from the defense sector, Bharat Forge was among the top stocks to watch out for today.

The share price of Bharat Forge slumped 7% today after the company's overseas operations posted an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) loss.

This was due to ramp-up related issues of the new Al forgings capacities in Germany and the US.

In the previous quarter ended September 2022, overseas subsidiaries had posted an EBITDA loss of Rs 341 million.

Back-to-back losses have affected investor sentiment.

The management, however, expects these new capacities to turn around in FY24 and enjoy high margins at 75-80% utilization.

Bharat Forge is among the top Indian drone companies to watch out for in 2023.

How the above developments pan out remains to be seen.

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.

Moving on to news from the telecom sector, the government is looking into the process of delisting state-run telecom carrier Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) ahead of the merger with another state telecom firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

The merger for both ailing telecom units has been hanging fire for more than a decade now with the department exploring synergies between the two entities.

However, BSNL currently maintains MTNL's mobile network in two operational metropolitans -- Delhi and Mumbai.

According to reports, the delisting will be a long process and the company has already had a few rounds of discussions with market regulator.

It has hired an external advisor that would provide a detailed report on the legal issues and how to move forward with the delisting process.

Note that earlier this month, the Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan in the Parliament said that BSNL is expected to generate a net profit in the financial year 2026-27 after the implementation of the revival package.

Moving on to news from the metal and mining space, Anil Agarwal's Vedanta group has slashed net debt by US$2 billion in the current financial year as it seeks to soothe investor concern over its liquidity and ability to repay upcoming obligations.

Vedanta Resources has achieved half of its three-year planned reduction commitment of US$4 billion in the first year, the London-based company said in an exchange filing.

It will continue to deleverage from net debt of US$7.7 billion in the next two financial years.

In the Indian market, Vedanta's share price ended marginally lower and did not have any impact on the above development.

Moving on to news from the power sector, Torrent Power rallied 10% today after the company reported strong earnings.

The company's consolidated net profit went up 88% year-on-year (YoY) on account of higher income.

Along with strong results, the company's board also delivered and approved an interim dividend of Rs 22 per equity share, including Rs 13 per equity share as a special dividend.

The company fixed Wednesday, 22 February 2023 as the record date for the interim dividend purpose.

Torrent Power is one of the largest companies in the country's power sector with a presence across the entire power value chain.

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