Share markets in India are presently trading on a strong note.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 226 points, up 0.5% at 46,489 levels.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading up by 86 points.

Divi's Laboratories and Mahindra & Mahindra are among the top gainers today. Tech Mahindra and Eicher Motors are among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.7%

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

On the sectoral front, barring the banking sector, all sectors are trading in green with stocks from the real estate sector witnessing most of the buying interest.

US stock futures are mixed today.

Nasdaq Futures are trading up by 18 points (up 0.1%) while Dow Futures are trading down by 32 points (down 0.1%).

The rupee is trading at 73.55 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up 0.4% at Rs 49,635 per 10 grams.

In global markets, gold prices were muted today as a rally in global equity markets took some shine off the yellow metal.

Following an overnight rally in global markets, gold prices edged higher in India. Hopes of the rollout of more US stimulus have supported the recent bounce in gold and silver. On MCX, February gold futures gained 0.3% to Rs 49,571. In the previous session, gold had jumped Rs 530 or 1.1% per 10 grams.

Among the buzzing stocks, today is Biocon Biologics.

Biocon Biologics, a subsidiary of Biocon, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Christian Social Services Commission (CSSC), a faith-based organization active in Africa, to provide affordable access to quality insulin in the region.

The company is helping unlock universal access to quality insulins in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) by making recombinant human insulin (rh-insulin) available for less than 10 U.S. cents per day as a part of its 'Mission 10 cents' program.

It is working with local partners to help strengthen overall healthcare capacity with the aim of supporting all people with diabetes in low-to-middle income countries, where diabetes prevalence has been rising more rapidly than in high-income countries.

Diabetes is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke, and lower limb amputation. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), in an analysis of 14 African countries, over 18% or nearly one in five, COVID-19 deaths in Africa were found to be among people with diabetes.

Biocon is an innovation-led global biopharmaceuticals company committed to enhancing affordable access to complex therapies for chronic conditions like diabetes, cancer and autoimmune.

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

At the time of writing, Biocon Biologics share price was trading up by 1.3% on the BSE.

Moving on to news from the software sector...

At 19,480%, Majesco's Interim Is Highest Payout Ever by An Indian Firm

On December 15, Majesco declared an interim dividend of Rs 974 per share. The dividend was slightly higher than the small-sized technology company's previous day's closing price of Rs 972.

The high dividend payout follows the sale of the US arm, which accounted for the bulk of its revenues and profits, to private equity firm Thoma Bravo earlier this year.

"This interim dividend payout translates to an amount of Rs 27.8 billion on a shareholder base of 28.8 million shares. The balance cash reserves estimated at Rs 1 billion will be distributed subject to board and regulatory approvals," the company said in a BSE notification.

Majesco has also launched a Rs 6.3 billion share buyback program, which will conclude by the end of this month. Both the buyback and the dividend are the ways to return the cash it generated from the sale of the US arm.

The hefty dividend prompted many investors to buy Majesco's shares. Nearly Rs 10 billion worth of shares, over a third of its market capitalization, changed hands on December 15 on the exchanges.

Note that since April 2020, dividends above Rs 100,000 in a financial year are taxed at the hands of the receiver, according to his/her tax slab. So, for someone who falls in the highest tax bracket, the tax outgo, after including all levies, can be as high as 43%.

On the other hand, an existing shareholder selling in the market will be taxed either 10% long-term capital gains tax or 15% short-term capital gains tax.

Speaking of the small cap stocks, Senior Research Analyst at Equitymaster, Richa Agarwal's smallcap service Hidden Treasure has had its fair share of failures. But sticking to a disciplined process meant that Hidden Treasure's internal rate of return (IRR) increased to 24.38% since inception.

This compares favorably to the IRRs of 9.6% for the Sensex, and 8.8% for the smallcap index in the same period (February 2008 - June 2020) as can be seen in the chart below.

The service's performance did suffer in the short term after the 2018 crash in small caps. However, the long term track record and the post-COVID rebound underscores the strength of stock-picking process.