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After opening the day on a negative note, Indian shares reversed the trend and recouped the losses as the session progressed and ended on a firm footing.

The weekly F&O expiry likely triggered a fag-end recovery on the bourses on Thursday, helping benchmarks recoup from steep losses intraday.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 535 points (up 0.7%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 162 points (up 0.7%).

HCL Tech, Bajaj Auto, and Coal India were among the top gainers today.

BPCL, Hero MotoCorp, and HDFC Bank on the other hand were among the top losers today.

The GIFT Nifty was trading at 22,268, up by 220 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE MidCap index ended 0.9% higher and the BSE SmallCap index ended 0.5% higher.

Barring the banking sector, other sectoral indices are trading on a positive note, with socks in the auto sector, IT sector, and capital goods sector witnessing the most buying.

Shares of Siemens, Thermax, and Apollo Hospitals hit their respective 52-week highs today.

Asian share markets ended higher. The Shanghai Composite surged 1.3% while the Nikkei rallied 2.2%.

The rupee is trading at 82.85 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading up by 0.1% at Rs 62,17 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices were trading 0.6% higher at Rs 70,999 per 1 kg.

Here are three reasons why Indian Markets are rising today

#1 Upbeat Global Markets

Most markets across Asia inched higher in trade on 22 February, which also aided the sentiment for domestic equities. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, and South Korea's Kospi surged up to 2.5% each.

#2 Buying in Index Heavyweights

Index heavyweights TCS, ITC, and ICICI Bank were the top contributors on Sensex in morning deals today. TCS was the top Sensex gainer. It jumped over 2.4% to Rs 4.086 in intra-day deals today.

Meanwhile, TCS also gained 2% on BSE, while Tata Motors and ICICI Bank jumped 1%.

#3 Rupee Factor

The rupee stayed firm for the fourth straight session and gained 4 paise to 82.9 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, tracking a weak American currency against major overseas rivals.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic currency opened at 82.94 and gained further to 82.92 against the greenback in initial deals, registering a gain of 4 paise from its previous close.
 

ITC to Buy Stake in Pratap Snacks

In news from the FMCG sector, ITC is evaluating the purchase of a 47% stake held by Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital) in listed Prataap Snacks.

This follows the failure of talks with Haldiram's owing to a valuation mismatch. Prataap is best known for Yellow Diamond chips and traditional Indian namkeen under the Avadh brand.

Listed Bikaji Foods, another large snacks company, had also looked at the deal but those negotiations also fizzled out.

Buyout funds KKR, TA Associates, and Apax are among others that have been tapped since Peak XV initiated a plan to fully exit its nearly 13-year-old investment in Prataap and hired Deutsche Bank to sell the company.

The transaction if successful will trigger an open offer for an additional 26% of the Indore-based company, which has been a laggard ever since its stock market debut in 2017 when it listed at a 33% premium. Prataap ended 1% down at Rs 1,174.5 for a market value of Rs 28 bn on Wednesday.

ITC, which sells Bingo chips and namkeen among other products, sees Prataap giving it significant headroom in regional pockets, especially when its own brands haven't been able to win a significant share in those territories due to stiff local competition.

ITC is India's biggest cigarette & one of the largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company. It has a 78% market share in cigarettes and a presence in other business segments such as staples, biscuits, and personal care products.

Why Brigade Enterprises Share Price is Rising

Moving on to news from the real estate sector, shares of Brigade Enterprises Limited advanced 5% to Rs 1,055 in early trade on 22 February after the company signed a joint development agreement with PVP Ventures to develop a 2.5 million square feet, high-rise residential project in Perambur, Chennai.

The company believes that this project has a revenue potential of up to Rs 20 bn.

Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad are key focus markets for Brigade, and this strategic expansion in the residential and hospitality sectors is an integral part of the overall growth plan.

Not just the high-rise apartment, the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Brigade Hotel Ventures Limited, has signed a 45-year lease agreement with the Landowners to build a 250-room resort on East Coast Road (ECR) in Chennai.

The ECR property will be its first resort and is part of our plan to increase our total room count by another 1200 keys over the next four years.

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