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

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 223 points, up 0.5% at 45,302 levels.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading up by 62 points.

IndusInd Bank and Adani Ports & SEZ are among the top gainers today. JSW Steel and Nestle India are among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.8%

The BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 1.3%.

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

On the other hand, stocks from the automobile 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 down by 10 points (down 0.1%) while Dow Futures are trading down by 85 points (down 0.3%).

The rupee is trading at 73.78 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by 0.3% at Rs 49,313 per 10 grams.

Gold prices were mixed today in Indian markets as optimism around Covid-19 vaccines roll-outs offset hopes of a US stimulus package being passed this week. On MCX, gold prices edged 0.2% higher to Rs 49271 per 10 grams. In the previous session, gold futures had declined 0.2% to Rs 49,209 per 10 grams.

Moving on to stock-specific news...

Among the buzzing stocks, today is ONGC.

ONGC Videsh (OVL), the overseas investment arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), has made a "significant" oil discovery in an onshore block in Colombia.

OVL is the operator in the block with a 70% stake. Geopark, an independent oil and gas company focused in Latin America, has the remaining 30% interest.

The company struck oil while drilling an appraisal well 'Indico-2' in CPO-5 block in Llanos Basin of Colombia. The well 'Indico-2' encountered a net pay of 147 feet which during initial testing produced oil of 35.2 degrees API in commercial quantity at the rate of 6,300 barrels per day.

This is the fourth commercial find in the block by OVL.

Light oil was discovered in the first well 'Indico-1X' in the Indico field during December 2018, and to-date it has demonstrated a sustained flow of 5,200 barrels per day (BPD) with cumulative production of over three million barrels of oil so far.

CPO-5 is a large inland block covering an area of 1,992 square kilometers and offers multi-play exploratory and appraisal opportunities.

The company now plans to drill more wells to explore the other plays in the block in the immediate future. OVL is also undertaking additional 3D seismic data to map more drillable prospects in the other sectors of the block.

OVL has a stake in 7 exploratory blocks in Colombia. These are in addition to two producing blocks with Mansarovar Energy Colombia (MECL).

We will keep you updated on all the news from this space. Stay tuned.

At the time of writing, ONGC's share price was trading up by 2% on the BSE.

Moving on to news from the metals and mining sector...

Government Extends NMDC's Donimalai Iron Ore Lease After Two-Year Suspension

In a major relief for National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), the long-pending issue of the Donimalai iron ore mine lease, which was suspended in November 2018, has finally resolved with the government endeavor.

The decision has not only paved the way for operationalization of the mine but is also a timely decision taken in a situation when steel companies are facing a shortage of supply of iron ore.

Exercising the power conferred to the Government of India (GOI) under Section 31 of the MMDR Act, 1957, the Government reached an agreement with the Karnataka government and the Ministry of Steel to extend the Donimalai iron ore lease.

Donimalai iron ore mine, which has a total concession area of 597.5 hectares and an estimated resource of 149 million tonnes, will increase the annual iron ore production in the country by 7 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).

Based on the existing high price of ore, it is expected that the mine will contribute around Rs 4 billion to the State Exchequer, during the ongoing financial year.

It will also take the nation a step closer towards the vision of the government to achieve 300 MTPA crude steel capacity by 2030-31 and will bring a sense of security for more than two dozen SMEs (with 100s of employees) near the Donimalai area that was directly or indirectly dependent on NMDC for the supply of raw material.

The local community dependent on NMDC CSR activities stands to benefit from the lease revival.

Speaking of the metal sector, note that metal stocks have rebounded sharply from their March lows, with a revival in both domestic and global demand.

Have a look at the chart below which shows returns of the major sectoral indices since 23 March 2020.

How metal stocks perform in the coming months remains to be seen.