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

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 240 points, down 0.5% at 49,262 levels.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading down by 52 points.

Coal India and Indian Oil Corporation are among the top gainers today. HDFC and Kotak Bank 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 1.1%.

On the sectoral front, stocks from the oil & gas sector, are witnessing most of the buying interest.

On the other hand, stocks from the software sector, are witnessing most of the selling pressure.

US stock futures are trading lower today, indicating a negative opening for Wall Street

Nasdaq Futures are trading down by 90 points (down 0.7%) while Dow Futures are trading down by 59 points (down 0.2%)

The rupee is trading at 73.43 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.2% at Rs 47,855 per 10 grams.

Gold prices were trading flat in domestic markets in early trade today following a muted trend in international spot prices amid a rise in the dollar index. On the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX), June gold contracts were trading flat at Rs 47,946 for 10 grams.

Note that a rise in the dollar index makes gold more expensive for other currency holders. The US currency slipped to a more than two-month low in the previous session after US non-farm payroll data on 7 May showed that jobs growth unexpectedly slowed in April.

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 HSIL.

Shares of sanitary-ware and packaging products maker HSIL surged over 9% in early trade today after the company reported a multi-fold jump in its net profit for the quarter ended March 2021.

The company's net profit jumped to Rs 330 m in Q4FY21 from Rs 33.8 m in the same period a year ago. Revenue from operations of the company during the quarter also rose 37.4% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 6.3 bn from Rs 4.6 bn in Q4FY20.

During the quarter, the company delivered an EBITDA (earnings before interest, depreciation, and amortization) of Rs 1 bn, registering a growth of 65.5%YoY. EBITDA margins also improved to 15.9% in Q4FY21 from 13.1% in Q4FY20.

"The Packaging Products Division witnessed increased demand for glass bottles from multiple user segments thereby driving better volumes. The EBIT margins improved significantly from 11.2% in Q4FY20 to 17.9% in Q4FY21. The margins were driven by better product mix and higher operational efficiencies at the plants resulting in lower fuel and power costs per unit," the company said in a regulatory filing.

For the year FY21, the company's net profit was up 81.8% at Rs 880 m from Rs 484.2 m in the previous year.

"During the year, we focused on our costs and efficiencies to deliver a robust performance on a quarter-on-quarter basis. The improvement in margins over the last year clearly demonstrates our abilities to work and deliver under uncertain times," said Sandip Somany, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, HSIL.

At the time of writing, shares of HSIL were trading up by 13.7% on the BSE.

In news from the airline sector...

Interglobe Aviation to Raise Rs 30 bn via QIP

InterGlobe Aviation, parent of the country's largest airline IndiGo, on 11 May 2021, said its board has approved raising up to Rs 30 bn through the sale of shares to institutional investors.

The fundraising plan of the company comes at a time when the airline industry is facing significant headwinds due to the coronavirus pandemic that has resulted in falling passenger demand and low occupancy in flights.

This will be done through the issuance of equity shares by way of a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP).

The Gurugram-based airline had reported a net loss of Rs 6.2 bn, its fourth consecutive quarterly loss, in the three months ended December 2020. The company is yet to announce its earnings for the March 2021 quarter as well as for the fiscal year 2021.

While the airline industry was slowly on the recovery path, the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has hit the sector hard.

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