Share markets in India are presently trading marginally lower.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 138 points, down 0.3%, at 40,566 levels.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading down by 42 points.

Bharti Airtel and Tata Steel are among the top gainers today. IndusInd Bank and Hero MotoCorp are among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.1%

The BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.2%

On the sectoral front, stocks from the telecom sector and metal sector are witnessing most of the buying interest.

On the other hand, stocks from the banking sector are witnessing most of the selling pressure.

US stock futures are trading lower today, indicating a negative opening for Wall Street indices.

Nasdaq Futures are trading down by 50 points (down 0.4%), while Dow Futures are trading down 124 points (down 0.4%).

The rupee is trading at 73.6 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.4% at Rs 51,115 per 10 grams.

Speaking of the precious yellow metal, how lucrative has gold been as a long-term investment in India?

The chart below shows the annual returns on gold over the last 15 years...

As you can see, barring just two years - 2013 and 2015, gold has delivered positive returns in 13 of the last 15 years.

The recent price volatility in the bullion market has rattled many traders. Even with the recent volatility in prices, gold remains among the best-performing commodities this year to combat the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Moving on to stock-specific news...

Among the buzzing stocks, today is UltraTech Cement.

According to an exchange filing, cement maker UltraTech Cement reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 12.4 billion, a 113% year-on-year (YoY) increase for the quarter ended September.

This was largely due to an exceptional gain of Rs 3.6 billion on account of the sale of its Chinese subsidiary.

UltraTech Nathdwara Cement (UNCL) through its subsidiary, Krishna Holdings, a company incorporated in Singapore, divested its entire equity shareholding of 92.5% in the cement subsidiary at a net consideration of US$ 94.7 million.

While net sales of the company rose 8% YoY to Rs 103.5 billion, its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) jumped 40% YoY to Rs 29.5 billion - the highest since the first quarter of FY20.

That was mostly led by lower energy and other costs (down 9% and 18% YoY, respectively), coupled with stable logistic expenses. The company's margin expanded to 26% from 19.9% a year ago.

The company said that its strong quarterly performance was on the back of operational efficiencies and its ability to serve all Indian markets. It also reported robust operating margins driven by both revenue growth and tight cost management.

UltraTech expects demand for cement to grow on the back of the government's thrust on infrastructure and the expanding rural economy, it said in the exchange filing. The recent policy measures announced by the Reserve Bank of India to support the real estate sector will also aid demand, the filing further said.

At the time of writing, UltraTech Cement share price was trading up by 0.8% on the BSE.