Share markets in India are presently trading marginally lower.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 198 points, down 0.4% at 46,055 levels.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading down by 35 points.

Eicher Motors and UltraTech Cement are among the top gainers today. ICICI Bank and Hindustan Unilever are among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading down by 0.3%

The BSE Small Cap index is trading down by 0.2%.

On the sectoral front, stocks from the real estate sector are witnessing most of the selling pressure.

On the other hand, stocks from the consumer durables sector are witnessing most of the buying interest.

US stock futures are mixed today.

Nasdaq Futures are trading down by 5 points (flat) while Dow Futures are trading up by 42 points (up 0.1%).

The rupee is trading at 73.63 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up 0.6% at Rs 49,224 per 10 grams.

In global markets, gold prices edged higher today as investors assessed the likelihood for further virus-related economic restrictions amid surging Covid-19 cases in many countries.

Tracking positive global cues, gold prices edged higher in Indian markets as new coronavirus-related restrictions in some countries lifted the safe-haven appeal of the precious metals. On MCX, February gold futures were up 0.2% to Rs 49,035 per 10 grams. In the previous session, gold prices had slumped about 0.8%.

Moving on to stock-specific news...

Among the buzzing stocks, today is Borosil Renewables.

Borosil Renewables has announced its plans to raise funds through a qualified institutional placement (QIP). The floor price of the QIP issue is set at Rs 133.2 apiece.

The company may, in accordance with the special resolution of the shareholders dated September 28, 2020, at its discretion, offer a discount of not more than 5% on the floor price as permitted under the market regulator guidelines.

The committee of directors will meet again on December 17 to determine the issue price of the QIP.

The board will also consider and approve and capital infusion from the promoter or promoter group, in lieu of securities issued through a preferential allotment. The value of the securities issued would not exceed Rs 250 million.

Separately, Borosil Renewables informed the bourses that the Directorate General of Trade Remedies of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has issued final findings for the imposition of a countervailing duty of 9.7% of the cost insurance and freight value for a period of five years on the import of textured, tempered, coated or uncoated glass from Malaysia.

The duty will be effective after the issuance of final customs notification by the Ministry of Finance, the company said in a separate filing on Monday.

Borosil Renewables is engaged in the business of manufacturing of extra clear patterned glass and low iron solar glass for application in photovoltaic panels, flat plate collectors and greenhouses.

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

At the time of writing, Borosil Renewables' share price was trading up by 9.3% on the BSE.

Moving on to news from the banking sector...

Bank of Maharashtra Raises Rs 2 Billion Through Bonds

State-run Bank of Maharashtra on December 14 said it has raised over Rs 2 billion through a private placement of Basel III-compliant Tier II bonds.

The fundraising is part of the lender's Rs 10 billion Tier II bond program.

The coupon offered on the bond was 7.8%.

Last week, Brickwork Ratings had reaffirmed the AA rating of the lender's Tier II bonds worth Rs 10 billion. The outlook was also reaffirmed as stable. The domestic rating agency had also assigned AA- rating to Bank of Maharashtra's Rs 10 billion of Basel III compliant additional Tier I bonds with a stable outlook.

"The rating assignment/reaffirmation factors in the strong support from the government, over 10% growth in business, and adequate capitalization and resource profile as of September 30, 2020," the rating agency said in a note on its website.

The government's shareholding in the bank stood at 93.3% as of September 2020. Over the last few years, the bank has received a capital infusion of Rs 200 billion from the government.

The lender gets 60% of its business from Maharashtra. The business size of Rs 2620 billion includes deposits of Rs 1580 billion, while advances crossed Rs 1000 billion as of September 30, 2020.

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

Speaking of the banking sector, check out the monthly returns of major sectors for the month of March and October 2020 in the chart below.

In the chart above, you can see that banks were among the major losers with a cut of 34% in the month of March.

Cut to October they are the biggest gainers for the month with 11% returns!