Share markets in India are presently trading marginally lower.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 95 points, down 0.2% at 52,387 levels.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading down by 24 points.

Bajaj Auto and Tata Motors are among the top gainers today. Tech Mahindra and Shree Cement are among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading flat.

The BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.3%.

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

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

US stock futures are trading mixed today.

Nasdaq Futures are trading flat while Dow Futures are trading up by 64 points (up 0.2%).

The rupee is trading at 74.37 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by 0.4% at Rs 47,006 per 10 grams.

In global markets, gold edged lower to US$ 1,770 per ounce as a stronger US dollar dampened the appeal of gold. The dollar index held a near a 3-month high of 92.48 as investors looked ahead to a key US jobs report due later this week.

Amid weak global cues, gold prices continued to struggle in India below the Rs 47,000 level. On MCX, gold futures were marginally higher at Rs 46,927 per 10 grams after a sharp fall in the previous month.

Note that gold prices in India have fallen by about Rs 2,500 since last month. After the sharp fall, gold is down about Rs 9,000 from last year's record levels of Rs 56,200.

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 GAIL.

GAIL shares were up 2% on the bourses in an otherwise weak market after the company announced that it will invest about Rs 50 bn to build a portfolio of 1 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy.

As part of a push to embrace cleaner forms of energy, GAIL will lay pipeline infrastructure to connect consumption centers to gas sources and spend as much as Rs 40 bn on it.

In a press release, GAIL Chairman and Managing Director Manoj Jain said -

• We are a business that is already eco-friendly - gas. And now we want to leverage our position to go greener in line with the vision of the government and the Prime Minister to cut carbon emissions and pollution.

While electricity generated from solar energy or through wind power is the cleanest form of energy, converting municipal waste into compressed biogas will supplement the availability of cleaner fuel to automobiles and households.

The company also plans to set up ethanol units that can convert agriculture waste or sugarcane into less polluting fuel that can be doped in petrol, helping cut India's import dependence. While the renewable energy push would cost Rs 40 bn, setting up at least two compressed biogas plants and an ethanol factory would entail an investment of about Rs 8-10 bn, he added.

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

At the time of writing, GAIL shares were trading up by 1.6% on the BSE.

Moving on to news from the steel sector...

JSW Steel to Invest Over Rs 250 bn to Ramp Up Capacity

The country's leading steelmaker, JSW Steel is planning to invest another Rs 251 bn by 2025 to ramp up its capacity to 37.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), Chairman and Managing Director Sajjan Jindal said in a message to the company's shareholders.

The company, which sold nearly 15 MT of steel in the financial year 2021, claimed to have invested Rs 480 bn in the past three years for augmenting its production capacity to nearly 28 MT.

JSW Steel has an installed crude steel capacity of 18 MT in India, comprising 12.5 MTPA of flat products and 5.5 MTPA of long products.

Mr. Sajjan Jindal added:

• We are now embarking on the next phase of growth with the newly approved Capex plan of Rs 251 bn.
  
  This capital will allow us to augment our crude steel capacity at Vijayanagar by 7.5 MTPA, enhance and digitize our mining capabilities and infrastructure in Odisha and help us set up a state-of-the-art color-coated facility in Jammu & Kashmir to support local demand and development in the state.

The company's balance sheet is getting stronger as it improves its cash flows and efficiently allocates capital.

With the new capacities and strong price environment, the company expects the net debt to EBITDA ratio to be at 2.8x.

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