Indian share markets continued their momentum during closing hours and ended their trading session on a positive note today.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 428 points (up 1.1%) and the NSE Nifty closed higher by 137 points (up 1.2%).

The BSE Mid Cap index ended up by 1.3% and the BSE Small Cap index ended the day up by 1.4%.

All sectoral indices were trading in the green with healthcare sector and energy sector witnessing most of the buying interest.

Asian stock markets finished on a mixed note as of the most recent closing prices. The Hang Seng stood up by 0.46% and the Nikkei was trading up by 0.89%, while the Shanghai Composite was trading down by 0.32%.

European markets were trading on a positive note. The FTSE 100 was up by 0.77%. The DAX was trading up by 0.42%, while the CAC 40 was trading up by 0.62%.

The rupee was trading at 71.48 to the US$ at the time of writing.

In news from the commodity space, gold was witnessing buying interest today. The yellow metal held steady above the key US$ 1,600 mark today as an uptick in equities due to a drop in new coronavirus cases was offset by fears of an economic fallout.

The increase in the number of new virus cases slowed in China's Hubei province even as the death toll rose by 132 as of Tuesday. This was seen as a welcome breather and meant some gains for gold.

Market participants are now awaiting the minutes of the Federal Reserve's January 28-29 policy meeting to take cues on what effect it would have on gold prices.

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

Speaking of gold, 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...

Gold Has Been a Shining Long-Term Investment

As you can see, barring just two years - 2013 and 2015, gold has delivered positive returns in 13 of the last 15 years.