Share markets in India are presently trading marginally lower.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 17 points, flat at 48,064 levels.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading down by 8 points.

Power Grid Corporation and NTPC are among the top gainers today. Cipla and Dr Reddy's Laboratories are among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.6%.

The BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 1%.

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

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

US stock futures are trading higher today, indicating a positive opening for Wall Street.

Nasdaq Futures are trading up by 4 points (flat) while Dow Futures are trading up by 18 points (up 0.1%)

The rupee is trading at 74.92 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading down 0.1% at Rs 47,743 per 10 grams.

In domestic markets, gold prices edged higher in early trade today after a sharp drop in the previous session. Gold futures were up 0.3% at Rs 47,927 per 10 grams. In the previous session, gold had declined 0.8%.

In global markets, gold prices edged higher amid falling US Treasury yields and a softer dollar. The precious metal was also supported by weak global equity markets.

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 Rallis India.

Rallis India, a subsidiary of Tata Chemicals, on Thursday, reported a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) (after exceptional items) of Rs 81.2 million for the March quarter. The company's consolidated PAT stood at Rs 6.8 million during the corresponding period last year, Rallis India said in a BSE filing.

Consolidated revenue from operations of the company during the quarter also grew to Rs 4.7 billion compared to Rs 3.5 billion in the same year-ago period.

"The favorable agricultural activities in the last quarter were supportive of our domestic crop care business, which grew by 14% and seeds business by 7%. Exports were robust during the quarter. The ongoing harvest season is expected to support a continued growth in agricultural production aided by normal monsoon forecast," Rallis India Managing Director and CEO Sanjiv Lal said.

The company will continue to keep a close watch on the second wave of Covid-19 to ensure it can sail through the hard times, he stated."While positioning ourselves to meet the market requirements, we are also consistently prioritizing the safety and well-being of all our employees and other stakeholders," Lal added.

Rallis India is one of India's leading crop care companies. The company's 2,300 distributors reach more than 40,000 retail counters across the country covering more than 80% of India's districts.

Rallis is known for its deep understanding of Indian agriculture, sustained contact with farmers, quality agrochemicals, branding and marketing expertise, and its strong product portfolio of comprehensive crop care solutions.

In news from the automobile sector...

JLR to Temporarily Suspend Production: Tata Motors

Tata Motors on Thursday, April 22, 2021, said its British arm Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will be suspending production at two of its plants from April 26, 2021, on account of supply chain disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company's wholly-owned subsidiary, JLR UK, is currently experiencing some Covid-19 supply chain disruption, including the global availability of semiconductors, which is having an impact on its production schedules and ability to meet global demand for some of their vehicles, Tata Motors said in a regulatory filing.

"As a result, JLR has adjusted production schedules for certain vehicles which means that the Castle Bromwich and Halewood manufacturing plants will be operating a limited period of non-production from Monday, April 26, 2021," it added.

Manufacturing would, however, continue at the Solihull plant.

JLR is working closely with affected suppliers to resolve the issues and minimize the impact on customer orders wherever possible, Tata Motors noted.

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