Indian share markets moved sharply higher today amid positive global cues. The BSE Sensex registered new intraday and closing highs, while the Nifty rose above 12,080 levels.
On the sectoral front, gains were largely seen in the telecom sector, metal sector and realty sector.
At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 530 points (up 1.3%) and the NSE Nifty closed higher by 165 points (up 1.4%).
The BSE Mid Cap index ended up by 1.2%, while the BSE Small Cap index ended the day up by 0.8%.
Asian stock markets finished on a positive note as of the most recent closing prices. The Hang Seng was up 1.5% and the Nikkei stood up by 0.3%. The Shanghai Composite stood higher by 0.7%.
The rupee was trading at 71.70 to the US$ at the time of writing.
In news from the commodity space, gold prices in India remained weak today as positive developments towards an interim trade deal between the United States and China fueled risk-on sentiment.
Prices of December futures gold contracts were down 0.40% to Rs 37,746 per 10 gram. Prices declined for the fifth straight day, down about Rs 500 during the period.
Silver prices also edged lower today. On MCX, silver prices fell 0.80% to Rs 44,135 per kg.
In the US markets, gold prices edged down to a one-week low with US gold futures falling 0.2% to US$ 1,461.
Over the weekend, US national security adviser Robert O Brien said that a phase 1 trade agreement with China is still possible by the end of the year, but the Trump administration would not turn a blind eye to what happens in Hong Kong.
Adding to this, a survey of purchasing managers showed US manufacturing output accelerated in November to its fastest pace in seven months and services activity also picked up more than expected.
Note that gold prices were weighed down last week 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.
Gold is considered a safe store of value during times of economic or political uncertainty.
What effect the US-China trade talks have on gold in the coming days remains to be seen. We will keep you updated on all the developments from this space.
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 a recent edition of The 5 Minute WrapUp...
Meanwhile, Vijay Bhambwani 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 to find out...
Moving on to news from the telecom sector, Reliance Communication share price was in focus today. As per reports, Reliance Jio Infocomm and Bharti Airtel have submitted bids for assets of the debt laden Reliance Communication.
Airtel reportedly submitted its bids with Bharti Infratel. Airtel had submitted its bid earlier as well but had withdrawn it in protest against Nanavaty's decision to give another ten days for bid submission on Reliance Jio's request.
Today was the last day for submitting the bids, ten days after the resolution professional Anish Niranjan Nanavaty had extended the deadline.
RCOM's assets include spectrum, tower, fibre and real estate houses under its subsidiaries Reliance Telecom and Reliance Infratel.
Last year, Reliance Jio had agreed to buy RCOM's assets that included its spectrum, 43,000 telecom towers and 1.78-lakh route km. The deal failed to the requisite clearances from the department of telecommunications (DoT).
Reliance Communication has a total secured debt of about Rs 330 billion.
Earlier this month, Anil Ambani, along with four other directors, had resigned from the company. But the lenders rejected the the resignations, requesting Ambani and the other officials to co-operate in the insolvency proceedings against the company.
How the insolvency proceedings pan out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on the latest developments from this space.
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