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

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 308 points, up 0.7% at 45,917 levels.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading up by 97 points.

UPL and ITC are among the top gainers today. Hindalco and Shree Cement are among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.5%

The BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.7%.

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

US stock futures are trading higher today, indicating a positive opening for Wall Street indices.

Nasdaq Futures are trading up by 11 points (up 0.1%) while Dow Futures are trading up by 99 points (up 0.3%).

The rupee is trading at 73.58 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.7% at Rs 49,736 per 10 grams.

In international markets, gold prices eased today as encouraging vaccine developments pushed investors towards riskier equities. But hopes of more US stimulus kept gold supported at lower levels.

Tracking global cues, gold prices also fell in Indian markets as equity markets rallied across the world amid Covid vaccine optimism. On MCX, February gold futures fell 0.6% to Rs 49,815 per 10 grams. In the previous session, gold had ended 0.2% higher.

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 TVS Srichakra.

Leading tire maker, TVS Srichakra, part of the US$ 8.5 billion TVS Group will invest around Rs 10 billion to ramp up manufacturing at its Madurai and Pantnagar plants.

The proposed investment will be made over a three-year period.

The investment, when fully made, will result in an increase in two- and three-wheeler tire capacity by 25-30% and will double off-highway tire capacity from current levels. The investment is planned to be funded by a mix of debt and internal accruals.

The Madurai (Tamil Nadu) and Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) facilities have a production capacity of over 3 million tires a month. The company has a design center in Milan, Italy, supporting the R&D center in Madurai and the tires are tested in Indian, European, and Japanese road conditions.

The expansion program being undertaken will focus on setting up additional capacities to cater to growing demand across its customer base - both domestically and globally. Included in this investment, is a plan to enhance capacities in the company's pioneering range of radial tires and other premium products.

The company said that this capital outlay will enable TVS Euro grip to further its growth aspirations and help strengthen its partnerships with vehicle manufacturers and create new benchmarks in the replacement and global markets.

TVS Srichakra is India's leading two- and three-wheeler tire manufacturer. The company supplies tires to a majority of two- and three-wheeler manufacturers in India, apart from having a significant presence in the domestic aftermarket.

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

At the time of writing, TVS Srichakra's share price was trading up by 7.9% on the BSE.

Moving on to news from the banking sector...

Indian Bank Raises Rs 10 Billion Through Private Placement of Basel III Compliant Bonds

According to a regulatory filing, Indian bank has successfully raised Tier I capital fund through a private placement of Basel III compliant additional tier I perpetual bonds aggregating to Rs 10 billion. The AT1 bond sale is part of the bank's proposed Rs 50 billion capital raising plan in the next three quarters, as approved by its board.

The placement has been completed by the bank through BSE-EBP.

In September, the lender had scrapped an AT1 bond issue as investors demanded a higher interest rate than what it had anticipated. Around the same time, the State Bank of India raised Rs 40 billion selling AT1 bonds at 7.7% coupon, while Canara Bank had raised about Rs 10 billion at 8.3%.

Note that AT1 bonds are unsecured, perpetual bonds that banks issue to meet the Basel-III regulations. Banks can skip paying interest on these bonds if their capital ratios fall below the threshold levels. A bank's regulatory capital is divided into Tier-1 and Tier-2. Tier-1 is subdivided into common equity Tier-1 (CET-1) and AT-1 capital.

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