Share markets in India are presently trading marginally lower.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 194 points, down 0.4%, at 52,375 levels.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading down by 47 points.

Bajaj Finserv and Tata Steel are among the top gainers today. Bajaj Auto and Eicher Motors are among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.4%.

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

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

On the other hand, stocks from the banking 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 up by 14 points (up 0.1%) while Dow Futures are trading up by 99 points (up 0.3%).

The rupee is trading at 74.64 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by 0.04% at Rs 47,740 per 10 grams.

Gold prices in India dipped slightly amid the strengthening of the Indian rupee. On MCX, gold futures were down at Rs 47,716 per 10 grams.

In global markets, gold rates remained steady and were headed for a third straight weekly gain, boosted by a further drop in US bond yields. Spot gold was steady at US$ 1,800.9 per ounce.

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.

Even with the recent volatility in prices, gold and silver remain 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 Bharat Dynamics.

Bharat Dynamics' share price gained 4% on the BSE in early trade today after the company signed a contract worth about Rs 5 bn with the Ministry of Defence for the supply of Akash Missiles to the Indian Air Force.

Akash Missiles have been successfully test-fired on many occasions and are considered as one of the best in the category.

With the Union Cabinet giving clearance for export of Akash Weapon System, the company is looking to take up export orders. Bharat Dynamics is the prime production agency under India's Integrated Guided Missile Development (IGMD) Programme.

With respect to its order book, the company in an exchange filing said,

• The company has bagged new orders worth about Rs 28 bn during the financial year 2021 which includes an anti-tank guided missiles order worth about Rs 18.2 bn and surface to air missiles order worth about Rs 7.9 bn.
  
  With the present contract signed for the supply of Akash to the Indian Air Force, the order book position now stands at about Rs 86.8 bn.

Bharat Dynamics is one of India's leading manufacturers of ammunitions and missile systems. The company was founded in 1970 in Hyderabad, Telangana, India.

Moving on to news from the finance sector...

CDSL Becomes First Depository to Open 40 m Demat Accounts 

A euphoric rise in the stock market indices continues to attract more first-time investors. Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL) on 8 July said that it hit a significant milestone of onboarding 40 m active Demat accounts.

CDSL is currently the largest depository in the country in terms of active Demat accounts.

The company, which allows investors to deposit securities by opening an account in electronic form (dematerialized), gets its revenues from transaction charges, account maintenance charges, and settlement charges paid by depository participants.

It also earns through annual fees, corporate action, and e-voting charges paid by companies whose securities are admitted in the depository's system

Major shareholders of CDSL include BSE, Canara Bank, HDFC Bank, LIC, and Standard Chartered Bank.

The company in February became the first depository to open 30 m Demat accounts. It took just five months to add another 10 m.

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