Indian benchmark indices ended on a positive note amid a highly volatile session.

This was on the back of metal stocks along with banking and financials.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 130 points (up 0.2%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 39 points (up 0.2%).

ONGC, NTPC, and Tata Steel were among the top gainers today.

Divi's Lab, Apollo Hospitals, and Infosys, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

BPCL's share price ended 1.8 higher. However, for the past couple of days, BPCL's share price has been falling due to its withdrawal of the disinvestment plan and poor financials.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 17,709, up by 21 points, at the time of writing.

Broader markets ended on a positive note. The BSE Midcap index climbed up by 0.1% while the BSE Smallcap index climbed up by 0.5%.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the Oil and gas, power, and metal sector witnessing maximum buying.

On the other hand, stocks in IT and Healthcare witnessed selling interest.

Shares of Page Industries, Tata Elxis and SKF India hit their 52-week highs today.

Reliance, Tata Steel, and ICICI Bank were amongst the most active shares on the BSE today.

Asian stock markets ended on a mixed note. The Nikkei ended the day higher by 2.6%, while the Hang Seng inched higher by 0.5%. The Shanghai Composite ended 0.2% lower.

The rupee is trading at 79.6 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading up by 0.1% at Rs 52,300 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading down by 0.1% at Rs 58,369 per 1 kg.

Of late, gold prices are falling while silver isn't far behind. Silver price is also falling as industrial demand for silver is under pressure while a stronger US dollar is adding to worries.

Once the Fed signals an end to the rate hikes (or hints at it) and when investors are confident the US economy will emerge from the recession, that's when we see gold and silver prices recovering.

In news from the pharma sector, Aurobindo Pharma was one of the buzzing stocks today.

The company reported its quarterly earnings for the June 2022 quarter yesterday.

The multinational pharmaceutical reported a 9% YoY growth in consolidated revenues at Rs 62.3 bn, up from Rs 57 bn. This was due to an 11.6% increase in the revenue from the API (Active Pharmaceuticals Ingredients) segment.

However, the company's EBITDA declined by 22.5% YoY to Rs 9.3 bn as input costs rose.

As a result, the company's consolidated net profit came down by 32.4% YoY to Rs 5.2 bn.

Commenting on the results, Aurobindo Pharma's Managing Director, K Nithyananda Reddy said,

We delivered a good performance amidst challenging environment, while reinforcing our growth pillars. Investments in product portfolio continued at a healthy pace as reflected in the filings and launches in the quarter.

Our focus on the development of specialty products pipeline will establish new avenues to grow the business in future. This along with our aim to drive sustained improvement in profitability through newer avenues will enhance improved profitability over medium to long term.

Speaking of Pharma, the Nifty pharma index too witnessed a sharp recovery from ~12,300 to ~13,500 levels in March 2022.

Research analyst Brijesh Bhatia believes that the boost was due to rising drug exports in the country amid the ongoing geopolitical tension.

This is how the market has rallied.

NIFTY Pharma Index Rally

(Click on image to enlarge)

Moving on to the news from the textile sector, Grasim Industries posted a stellar financial performance for the June 2022 quarter.

The company reported a 41% YoY growth in consolidated revenues at Rs 280.4 bn, up from Rs 199.1 bn.

The growth in standalone revenue was fueled by higher volumes in its VSF (viscose staple fiber) business backed by better price realizations in both the VSF and chemicals businesses

Segment-wise, Grasim's viscose (fiber and yarn) business generated a revenue of Rs 42.9 bn as against Rs 2.1 bn in the corresponding quarter of the last financial year. Revenue in the chemicals unit also improved to Rs 27.3 bn from Rs 14.3 bn in the year-ago period.

The company has announced its foray into the B2B e-commerce platform for the building materials segment with an investment of around Rs 20 bn over the next 5 years.

The platform will primarily focus on MSMEs in the Building Materials segment with the potential to further extend to other relevant categories.

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