Share markets in India are presently trading on a volatile note tracking gains in global equities, ahead of the outcome of a two-day policy meeting of the US central bank.

Investors are also awaiting a keynote address by Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das to members of industry body FICCI.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 28 points, up 0.1%, at 39,100 levels.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading up by 9 points.

M&M and Bajaj Auto are among the top gainers today. IndusInd Bank, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading down by 0.1%. The BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.2%.

On the sectoral front, gains are largely seen in the automobile sector.

US stock futures are trading marginally higher today. Nasdaq Futures are trading up by 11 points (up 0.1%), while Dow Jones Industrial Average Futures are trading up by 71 points (up 0.3%).

The rupee is currently trading at 73.76 against the US$.

Gold prices are currently trading up by 0.2% at Rs 51,860.

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. Earlier, gold had hit a record high of Rs 56,191 in Indian markets amid a global rally.

So, is it time to book profits in gold and silver?

In news from the automobile sector, India's automobile industry has urged the central government to reduce taxes before the festive season to counter the price increase on Bharat Stage-VI vehicles and support demand revival.

Representatives of leading automakers, including Toyota Kirloskar Motor India, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra and Mahindra and Hero MotoCorp, said a cut in goods and services tax (GST) on automobiles will help the sector, which had been struggling for more than a year even before the COVID-19 outbreak.

Yesterday, a report quoted Shekar Viswanathan, vice chairman, Toyota, saying that high taxes on cars keep companies at bay from building scale in India.

Later in a statement, Toyota said the auto industry has been requesting the government to support the industry through a viable tax structure. Toyota's cars, including Innova and Fortuner, attract 43% tax at the current GST rates.

The Union minister for environment, forest and climate change, had also suggested that the Centre was evaluating the possibility of GST cuts for two and three-wheelers to revive demand.

Earlier this month, auto stocks were in focus after Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said that a vehicle-scrappage policy was in its final stages of approval and could even be rolled out by month-end.

Reports stated that the vehicle scrappage policy aims to provide customers incentives to exchange old vehicles, which in turn will be used in recycling clusters - ultimately cutting costs of raw materials. It is also expected to boost demand for new vehicles in a COVID-hit economy.

Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) estimates vehicle sales to decline 25-45% in FY21.

During April-August, passenger car and utility vehicle wholesales fell 54% and 38%, respectively, year-on-year.

Speaking of the automobile sector, note that the sector has rebounded sharply from its March lows.

Have a look at the chart below:

Healthcare sector is at the top, followed by the automobile sector.

As per Apurva Sheth, the auto index entered the greed phase in September 2019 and will stay there until December 2021. This means there is still a lot of fuel left for auto stocks.

How automobile stocks perform in the coming months remains to be seen. Stay tuned for more updates from this space.

Moving on to stock-specific news...

Sterlite Technologies is among the top buzzing stocks today.

Shares of the company surged over 5% today after the company announced a partnership with Bharti Airtel to build a modern optical fiber network for the telco across 10 telecom circles.

Sterlite Technologies said this modern optical network will enable Airtel to deliver world-class customer experience through enhanced scalability, reduced latency, and improved bandwidth.

The densely fiberized, future-ready network, will also form the foundation for many next-gen services such as 5G, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), Internet of Things (IoT), enterprise networks, and Industry 4.0.

For the quarter ended June 2020, Sterlite Technologies had posted a 96% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 59.6 million, hit by the COVID-19 crisis. The company had recorded a profit of Rs 1,428.7 million in the same period a year ago.

Sterlite Technologies share price is presently trading up by 4.1%.