Share markets in India are presently trading marginally lower.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 89 points, down 0.2% at 44,566 levels.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading down by 10 points.

GAIL and Indian Oil Corporation are among the top gainers today. Shree Cement and HDFC Bank are among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.5%.

The BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.6%

On the sectoral front, stocks from the real estate sector are witnessing most of the buying interest.

On the other hand, stocks from the finance 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 16 points (down 0.1%) while Dow Futures are trading down by 126 points (down 0.4%).

The rupee is trading at 73.63 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by 0.9% at Rs 48,699 per 10 grams.

In global markets, gold prices slipped today after jumping more than 2% in the previous session. Gold was weighed down by optimism that the global economy can finally get back on course in 2021 with some pharma giants seeking approval for a coronavirus vaccine.

Amid weak global cues, gold prices in Indian markets also dropped. On MCX, February gold futures slipped 0.2% to Rs 48,449 per 10 grams. In the previous session, gold prices had jumped 1.4% or Rs 700 per 10 grams.

Note that gold prices have been on a downward path since hitting record highs of Rs 56,200 in August. In November alone, gold prices fell about Rs 2,500 per 10 grams.

Moving on to stock-specific news...

Among the buzzing stocks, today is Phoenix mills.

India's largest mall developer, Phoenix Mills (PML) along with its subsidiaries, signed a non-binding term-sheet with an affiliate of GIC to create a strategic, retail-led mixed-use platform.

GIC will invest in the PML subsidiaries-Offbeat Developers, Graceworks Realty and Leisure, and Vamona Developers by way of a combination of primary infusion and secondary purchase of equity shares.

As part of the deal, GIC will initially acquire a 26% stake, which can be raised to 35% within 12 months from the closing of the proposed deal. Phoenix Mills will contribute retail assets Phoenix Marketcity Mumbai and Phoenix Marketcity Pune, and the commercial assets Art Guild House, Phoenix Paragon Plaza, and Centrium, Mumbai as a part of the platform.

Together these assets, which are held by the PML subsidiaries, constitute a retail gross leasable area of 2.3 million square feet and an office area of 1 million square feet. The assets had a net operating income of about Rs 3.7 billion in FY20.

The company intends to utilize the proceeds from this proposed transaction as growth capital for further expansion and acquisition of greenfield, brownfield, operational, and or distressed mall opportunities.

The parties may also consider various options of monetizing this platform, including through a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) over three to five years from the closing of the proposed transaction.

At the time of writing, Phoenix Mills' share price was trading up by 11.7% on the BSE.

How this deal pans out for the company remains to be seen. Meanwhile, stay tuned for all the updates from this space.

Moving on to news from the Indian pharma sector...

Dr. Reddy's and RDIF Commence Clinical Trials for Sputnik V Vaccine in India

On December 1, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced the start of an adaptive phase 2/3 clinical trials for Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V in India.

The company has received necessary clearance from the Central Drugs Laboratory in Himachal Pradesh. The clinical trials will be conducted by JSS Medical Research as a clinical research partner.

The Indian drugmaker said this will be a multicenter and randomized controlled study, which will include a safety and immunogenicity study.

Further, Dr Reddy's has partnered with the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), Department of Biotechnology for advisory support and to use BIRAC's clinical trial centers for the vaccine.

Recently, RDIF announced the second interim analysis of clinical trial data, which showed 91.4% efficacy for the vaccine on day 28 after the first dose and vaccine efficacy of over 95%, 42 days after the first dose.

We will keep you updated on all the news from this space. Stay tuned.

Here's an interesting data on Dr. Reddy's Lab, investing just Rs 100,000 in Dr. Reddy's Labs in 1992, it would have given a whopping Rs 4.89 crores in 2014!