Extending strong gains to the second straight day, Indian share markets ended on a firm note tracking strength in US markets.

Benchmark indices registered their best month since August last year, with shares hitting a three-month high as metal and auto stocks surged.

Investors were relieved after data showed economic contraction in the US economy for a second straight quarter which raised hopes that the US Federal Reserve may not opt for aggressive interest rate hikes.

In July 2022, both benchmarks Sensex and Nifty registered around 8% gains.

At the closing bell on Friday, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 712 points (up 1.3%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 229 points (up 1.4%).

Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, and HDFC were among the top gainers.

Dr Reddy's, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and SBI, on the other hand, were among the top losers.

TVS Motor's share price is rising and rallied 10% intraday today after reporting good quarterly numbers.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 17,227, up by 280 points, at the time of writing.

The broader markets ended on a strong note. The BSE MidCap climbed 1% and the BSE SmallCap index ended higher by 1.4%.

All sectoral indices ended on a firm note today with stocks in the metal sector, energy sector, and IT sector witnessing most of the buying.

Shares of Blue Dart and Navin Fluorine hit their 52-week highs today.

Tata Steel and SBI Life Insurance were amongst the most active shares on the BSE today.

Asian share markets ended on a negative note today. The Nikkei ended the day on a flat note while the Hang Seng inched lower by 2.2%. The Shanghai Composite ended 0.9% lower.

The rupee was trading at 79.25 against the US$.

Of late, the rupee is falling but today it strengthened to its highest in nearly three weeks against the dollar, which fell on easing concerns over aggressive interest rate hikes by the Fed.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading down by 0.2% at Rs 51,185 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading up by 0.1% at Rs 57,700 per 1 kg.

Why the gold price is falling and why the silver price is falling have been on the minds of Indian investors. After all, we are used to seeing these precious metals appreciate.

But now, both gold and silver have started to recover.

In news from the insurance sector, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) has made important changes to rules governing sales, investments, and commissions charged by insurance companies as part of the ongoing deregulation agenda.

The changes were passed at the regulator's board meeting earlier this week and are likely to be implemented by the end of the quarter.

The IRDAI minutes are likely to be finalized in the next few days and changes are likely to be implemented in September.

The regulator has also decided to allow insurance companies to tap fundraising options, like through the debt market, without prior approval from the regulator.

In other news from the insurance space, SBI Life Insurance was among the top buzzing stocks today.

The share price of SBI Life Insurance touched a new all-time high of Rs 1,304.45 per share today following strong June quarter earnings.

India's largest private sector life insurer reported a net profit of Rs 2.6 bn, an increase of 18% for the quarter ended 30 June 2022.

Value of new business (VNB) margin expanded to 30.4% from 23.7% a year ago. At this level, SBI Life trumps peers such as HDFC Life Insurance Company and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company on margins for the June quarter.

The robust VNB and VNB margin come on the back of a jump in business growth which is partly due to the base effect.

The life insurer's new business premium showed a 67% YoY growth to Rs 55.9 bn for the quarter. On an annualized premium equivalent basis, business growth was 29%.

Speaking of the insurance sector, have a look at the chart below which shows the investment assets of non-life insurers and life insurers over the past 10 years:

Investment Assets of Non-Life Insurers 11x That of Life Insurers

Moving on to news from the automobile sector, one of India's top EV companies has reported its Q1 results.

TVS Motor has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 3.1 bn during the June quarter, against a loss of Rs 105.5 m in the year ago quarter. The net profit figures got a boost due to an increase in sales volume.

Owing to this, shares of the company hit an all-time high today.

The company's revenue from operations grew 57% year-on-year (YoY) at Rs 73.2 bn, against 46.9 bn in the same period last year.

TVS Motor said that the first quarter numbers are not strictly comparable with the first quarter of last year due to Covid-19 led lockdown.

The company continued to outperform the scooters segment and gained 330bps market share to 24.9%. However, their 160bps market share loss in motorcycles is attributed to a semiconductor chip shortage.

The company's management expects that the forecast of a normal monsoon by weather agencies and an uptick in capex spending by the government will drive growth going forward.

More By This Author:

Sensex Trades Higher, Nifty Above 17,000; Tata Steel Zooms 8%
5 Reasons Why Sensex Rallied 1,041 Points Today - Thursday, July 28
Sensex Zooms 750 Points, Nifty Above 16,850; Bajaj Twins Rally 9%