Extending gains to the sixth day, Indian share markets traded on a positive note most of the day and ended higher.

All sectoral indices ended on a positive note with stocks in the power sector, capital goods sector and realty sector witnessing maximum buying interest.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 246 points (up 0.6%) and the NSE Nifty closed higher by 76 points (up 0.7%). The BSE Mid Cap index ended the day up by 1.8%, while the BSE Small Cap index ended up by 1.7%.

Asian stock markets finished on a negative note as of the most recent closing prices. The Hang Seng was down 0.5% and the Nikkei was up 0.2%. The Shanghai Composite stood lower by 1.3%.

The rupee was trading at 71.12 to US$ at the time of writing.

Speaking of Indian stock markets, the stock market has not been kind to investors of late.

There has been a sudden shift in market sentiment on the back of same major developments.

And investors across the rank and file - from institutional to retail - have been at the receiving end. The mayhem has spared no one.

In the news from the engineering sector, BHEL share price was in focus today. The stock of the company witnessed huge buying interest on reports suggesting that the government will likely cut its stake in the company.

As per the news, the government may consider bringing down its stake in state-owned BHEL and National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC).

The stake in BHEL may be pared in tranches to 26% from 63.2% now.

The government may also look to sell the state-run power player's non-manufacturing units to private players.

Four to five units of BHEL are reportedly marked for sale to private players this fiscal.

An inter-ministerial group is expected to meet soon to discuss the stake sale.

Earlier in October, the government cleared disinvestment in five PSUs, a move which is expected to cover nearly 60% of its disinvestment target for FY20.

The government has a divestment target of Rs 1.05 lakh crore for the current financial year. In both FY18 and FY19, the divestment proceeds exceeded the target of Rs 1 lakh crore and Rs 800 billion respectively.

How the above stake sale pans out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on all the developments from this space.

Moving on to news from the media space, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) share price was in focus today as the company reported a 6.7% year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 4.1 billion for the second quarter ended September 2019. The growth here was driven by strong performance in domestic broadcast and digital businesses.

The company's total income rose 7.6% to Rs 21.9 billion during the quarter under review as against Rs 20.3 billion in the corresponding quarter last year.

ZEEL's total expenses in the quarter stood at Rs 15.1 billion as against Rs 13.8 billion in the year-ago period.

Total income during the July-September period rose 11.6% to Rs 43 billion as against Rs 38.5 billion in the year-ago period.

Revenue from advertisement stood at Rs 12.2 billion during July-September, up 1.2% YoY.

Subscription revenue rose 19% YoY at Rs 7.2 billion during the quarter under review.

The company said its entertainment portfolio continues to grow from strength to strength across all formats and maintained its leading position and its television network has emerged stronger post the implementation of tariff order on the back of a strong customer connect and brand pull of its channels.

Speaking of quarterly results and corporate profits, economic growth (GDP) and corporate profit growth hardly go hand in hand.

Over the past few years, the share of corporate profits to GDP has steadily declined.

This is evident in the chart below:

Rebound in Corporate Profits May Not Immediately Reflect in GDP

As per Tanushree Banerjee, the revival of Capex cycle may cause corporate profits to soar much faster than the GDP growth. Investors who stay focused on macro numbers may miss this bus.