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

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 289 points, up 0.6% at 52,863 levels.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading up by 106 points.

Adani Ports and Maruti Suzuki are among the top gainers today. Bajaj Finance and Nestle India are among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.9%.

The BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 1.4%.

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

US stock futures are trading mixed today.

Nasdaq Futures are trading flat while Dow Futures are trading up by 72 points (up 0.2%).

The rupee is trading at 74.13 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.1% at Rs 47,050 per 10 grams.

Gold prices were mixed in Indian markets today after a sharp drop in rates in the previous week. On MCX, gold futures edged 0.2% higher to Rs 47,185 per 10 grams.

Note that the precious metal has corrected sharply this month in India, falling from Rs 49,500 levels, tracking a decline in global rates.

In international markets, gold prices were steady today, extending yesterday's 1% advance. Spot gold was flat at US$ 1,784.1. Concerns regarding inflation eased as investors weighed comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who reiterated that higher inflation will likely be transitory.

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 KPIT Technologies.

KPIT Technologies announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling stake in PathPartner Technology.

PathPartner is a specialist design service and solution provider of operating system software and low-level software for the automotive, camera, radar, and multimedia devices.

The deal is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close during the June 2021 quarter.

KPIT will initially purchase a 60% stake of the company for a consideration of Rs 890 m and will acquire the remaining over a period of two years against defined growth targets.

The total consideration for a 100% stake will not exceed Rs 1.9 bn

Commenting on the acquisition, Kishor Patil, CEO, KPIT Technologies, said

• We welcome PathPartner Technology to the KPIT family.
  
  PathPartner's competence in the operating system software and low-level software and existing semiconductor partnerships for early access to platforms is key to delivering complex production programs.
  
  Together, we can offer differentiated offerings for new-age vehicle architectures and strengthen our software integration expertise.

The announcement was made after market hours on 21 June 2021.

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

At the time of writing, KPIT Technologies shares were trading up by 5% on the BSE.

Moving on to news from the Indian pharma sector...

Sun Pharma Inches Up as Company Settles Patent Litigation 

Shares of Sun Pharmaceuticals were trading with mild gains in early trade today after the company announced the settlement of its patent litigation for generic Revlimid in the US.

In a media release, the pharmaceutical major said -

• Sun Pharma has reached an agreement with Celgene Corporation (Celgene), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb, to resolve the patent litigation regarding submission of an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for a generic version of Revlimid (lenalidomide capsules) in the US.

Pursuant to the terms of the settlement, Celgene will grant Sun Pharma a license to Celgene's patents required to manufacture and sell a certain limited quantity of generic lenalidomide in the US.

As a result of the settlement, all litigation between Sun Pharma and Celgene, regarding the Revlimid patents, will be dismissed.

The agreement is subject to customary regulatory approvals, the company said. Additional details regarding the settlement are confidential.