Asian share markets are higher today as Chinese and Hong Kong shares show gains. The Shanghai Composite is up 0.6% while the Hang Seng is up 0.9%. The Nikkei 225 is trading down by 0.1%. Global equity markets edged higher on Monday, lifting prices of US government debt, as a new 90-day extension allowing US companies to do business with China's Huawei eased the latest spike in investor angst over US-Sino trade tensions.
Back home, India share markets opened higher. The BSE Sensex is trading up by 82 points while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 22 points. The BSE Mid Cap index and BSE Small Cap index opened up by 0.2% and 0.3% respectively.
Sectoral indices have opened the day on a mixed note with telecom stocks and healthcare stocks witnessing buying interest. Metal stocks and FMCG stocks are trading in red.
The rupee is currently trading at 71.94 against the US$.
In the news from the commodities space. Gold prices eased on Monday as optimism grew about US-China trade ties following a report of "constructive talks" over the weekend, while losses were capped by a softer dollar.
Spot gold was down about 0.1% to US$1,466.1 per ounce, while US gold futures were 0.1% lower at US$1,466.4.
As per the reports, Washington and Beijing had a high-level phone call on Saturday and that the two sides discussed each other's core issues for the first phase of an initial trade agreement.
Gold is considered a safe store of value during times of economic or political uncertainty.
Market participants now await minutes of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting, due on Wednesday, for clues about the future interest rate trajectory.
Gold is highly sensitive to interest rates, as a lower interest reduces the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding bullion.
Speaking of gold, how lucrative gold has been as a long-term investment in India?
The chart below shows the annual returns on gold over the last 15 years...
As you can see, barring just two years - 2013 and 2015, gold has delivered positive returns in 13 of the last 15 years.
Here's what Ankit Shah wrote about this in today's edition of The 5 Minute WrapUp...
Meanwhile, Vijay Bhambwani also talks about how gold has been relied upon by humankind for 3000 years in one of his videos.
If you consider street inflation, your fixed deposits are giving negative yields. In times like these, Vijay considers gold as a safe haven. So, is it the time to buy gold?
Tune in...
Moving on to the news from the engineering sector. As per an article in a leading financial daily, Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) has commissioned two more pumping units each at Package-6 (7x116 MW) and Package-8 (7x139 MW) of Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (LIS).
Notably, with this, the company has successfully commissioned all 14 pumping units of these packages within a record period of six months and well within the scheduled time.
Reportedly, these are very large size pump sets with each pump designed to lift 89 cumecs of water against a head of 100 to 125 metres.
In Telangana, company has so far commissioned 39 Pump-Motor sets of various ratings aggregating to 2,306 MW.
In addition, the company is presently executing another 26 Pump-Motor sets totaling to 3,572 MW for various Lift Irrigation Schemes.
Besides Lift Irrigation projects, BHEL has made significant contribution to the hydro sector of Telangana and has commissioned 1,073 MW of hydro power projects in the state so far.
BHEL share price opened the day down by 0.7%.
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