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

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 390 points, down 0.8% at 48,644 levels.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading down by 134 points.

UPL and Reliance are among the top gainers today. Tata Motors and Tata Steel are among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading down by 1.9%.

The BSE Small Cap index is trading down by 1.8%.

On the sectoral front, all sectors are trading in red with stocks from the metal sector, 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 20 points (down 0.2%) while Dow Futures are trading down by 31 points (down 0.1%).

The rupee is trading at 73.20 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up 0.4% at Rs 48,880 per 10 grams.

Gold prices in India extended their recent slide today when they slipped amid weak global cues. On MCX, gold futures fell 0.1% to over one month low of Rs 48,636 per 10 grams, extending their decline to the third day.

In the previous session, gold prices had declined Rs 500 per 10 grams while silver had slumped Rs 1,700 per kg.

Moving on to stock-specific news...

Among the buzzing stocks, today is Wipro.

IT services major Wipro on January 16 said it has completed its Rs 95 billion share buyback program. The buyback saw Azim Premji-affiliated entities tendering 229 million shares worth about Rs 91.5 billion during the process, a regulatory filing said.

"(A total of) 237 million equity shares were bought back under the buyback at a price of Rs 400 per equity share. The total amount utilized in the buyback is Rs 95 billion," it added.

The tendering period for the buyback program opened on December 29, 2020, and closed on January 11, 2021.

While Azim Premji Trust tendered 198.7 million shares, Mr Azim Hasham Premji Partner representing Hasham Traders tendered 10 million shares and Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives tendered 5.2 million shares.

Mr Azim Hasham Premji Partner representing Zash Traders and Mr Azim Hasham Premji Partner representing Prazim Traders tendered 750,000 shares each, it added.

Post completion of the buyback, the promoters hold a 73% stake in the company, while the remaining 27% stake is held by foreign investors, financial institutions and others.

Note that earlier this month, Wipro's larger rival Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) also completed its Rs 160 billion buyback offer, under which over 53.3 million equity shares were bought back at a price of Rs 3,000 apiece.

At the time of writing, Wipro's share price was trading up by 0.2% on the BSE.

Moving on to news from the pharma sector...

Metropolis Healthcare to Acquire Hitech Diagnostic Centre in a Cash, Stock Deal

Diagnostic chain Metropolis Healthcare on January 17 said it will acquire Dr Ganesan's Hitech Diagnostic Centre in a cash and stock combination deal, to strengthen its leadership position in southern India.

The company's board has approved the acquisition partly by way of cash consideration of Rs 5.1 billion and partly by the issuance of up to 495,000 equity shares of a face value of Rs 2 each on a preferential basis, to the promoter group of Hitech. The cash consideration will be funded through internal accruals and debt of up to Rs 3 billion.

By the acquisition, Metropolis will get access to 31 laboratories, including three NABL- and ICMR-accredited laboratories and 68 collection centers of Hitech. The acquisition is expected to be completed within three months.

The acquisition will also allow Metropolis to increase its B2C business in focus cities of Chennai and Bengaluru. It will benefit through optimization of operational costs in the areas of procurement, supply chain, administration and support resource, laboratory network, and back-office infrastructure.

Hitech Diagnostic Centre's Promoter S P Ganesan said Metropolis is the right brand to carry forward the legacy of Hitech. "We shall ensure a smooth integration of Hitech's business with Metropolis to increase the value for the combined entity through cost synergies and create a much stronger consumer brand in South India.

Mr Ganesan will be part of the leadership team for the next few years to enable a smooth transition and integration with Metropolis.

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

Speaking of the stock markets, here is an illustration of the four phases that stock goes through during its life cycle. The cycle repeats itself after the stock goes through all these four stages.

This cycle defines everything in markets. If you can master this cycle, then nothing can stop you from making huge profits.