Share markets in India are presently trading on a volatile note.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 40 points, down 0.1%, at 55,542 levels.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading up by 20 points.

Tech Mahindra and Tata Consumer Products are among the top gainers today. IndusInd Bank and HDFC Bank are among the top losers today.

Both the BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small-Cap index are trading up by 0.1%.

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

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

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

Nasdaq Futures are trading down by 37 points (down 0.2%) while Dow Futures are trading down by 168 points (down 0.5%).

The rupee is trading at 74.27 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up 0.3% at Rs 47,360 per 10 grams.

Gold prices were muted in India today with MCX gold futures down marginally at Rs 47,223 per 10 grams. In the previous session, gold had risen 0.5% amid volatile trade.

Note that gold has been very volatile in recent days, tracking US macro data. Last week, gold had hit a four-month low of Rs 45,600 before seeing some recovery. Gold had risen to a record high of Rs 56,200 levels last year.

In global markets, gold rates were steady today at US$ 1,787.9 per ounce.

Moving on to stock-specific news...

Among the buzzing stocks, today is Adani Enterprises.

Adani Road Transport (ARTL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises has acquired Maharashtra Border Check Post Network (MBCPNL) from Sadbhav Infrastructure Project at an enterprise value of Rs 16.8 bn, the company said in a statement.

MBCPNL has exclusive fee-collection rights from commercial vehicles at 24 entry points to India's richest state, Maharashtra.

This implies an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) multiple of approximately 7 times, it said.

MBCPNL is an SPV (special purpose vehicle) promoted by a consortium led by Sadbhav Engineering (parent of SIPL). The company was awarded the concession by the Maharashtra government to build, operate and transfer 24 modernized and computerized integrated border check posts.

Of these, 18 are operational, four near-operational, one near completion, and one under construction.

MBCPNL is an important gateway connecting Maharashtra with six neighboring states and covers over 20% of the commercial road traffic in India.

The concessions are long-term, till 2033, and have inflation protection (5% per annum and compounded every three years).

ARTL will begin by acquiring 49%, with the option to acquire an additional stake, subject to approvals.

We will keep you posted on more updates from this space. Stay tuned.

At the time of writing, Adani Enterprises shares were trading down by 0.2% on the BSE.

Speaking of the stock market, Brijesh Bhatia, Research Analyst at Fast Profits Report, shares why he thinks PSU banks are set to rally, in his latest video for Fast Profits Daily.

Moving on to news from the engineering sector...

Olectra Greentech Gains on Bagging Rs 700 m Order for Electric Buses

Shares of Olectra Greentech rose 2.3% on the BSE in early trade today after the company said it bagged an order worth Rs 700 m for supplying 50 electric buses under the FAME-II scheme of the Government of India.

The consortium of Olectra Greentech and Evey Trans received a letter of award (LoA) from the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation for 50 units of 9-meter electric buses, the company said in a press release.

The order for the supply of electric buses is on a gross cost contract (GCC)/OPEX model basis for a period of ten years (contract period). The value of this contract is approximately Rs 700 m.

The buses will be delivered over a period of 12 months. The maintenance of these buses will also be undertaken by Olectra Greentech during the contract period.

With this, the total order book of Olectra for electric buses stands at 1350 electric buses. The firm has so far supplied 250 e-buses to Gujarat.

The nine-meter air-conditioned buses have a seating capacity of 33 with electronically controlled air suspension to ensure a comfortable ride. Besides other facilities, the buses are equipped with CCTV cameras to ensure the safety of the commuters.

How this pans out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, stay tuned for more updates from this space.

Speaking of electric vehicles, note that the power ministry has approved setting up 2,636 electric vehicle charging stations across 62 cities in 24 states.

Here's what co-head of Research at Equitymaster, Tanushree Banerjee wrote about electric vehicles in one of her editions of Profit Hunter:

• 106 public and private entities have approached the government for permissions to set up about 7,000 EV charging stations.
  
  This clearly shows the vehicle manufacturers have enough incentive to capture this latent demand.
  
  The tax benefit in terms of a lower GST rate (at 5%) is a further shot in the arm of the EV industry.

As per Tanushree, electric vehicles are very much on their way to invading Indian roads. The threat of disruption in this era is something you cannot ignore.