After trading on a volatile note throughout the day, share markets in India witnessed buying interest during the closing hours and ended the day in green. Sectoral indices were trading on a mixed note, with stocks in the IT sector and healthcare sector leading the gains.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 132 points (up 0.4%) and the NSE Nifty closed up by 40 points (up 0.4%). The BSE Mid Cap index ended the day up 0.6%, while the BSE Small Cap index ended the day up by 1.4%.

The rupee was trading at Rs 73.98 against the US$ in the afternoon session.

Asian stock markets finished on a negative note. As of the most recent closing prices, the Hang Seng was down by 1.4% and the Shanghai Composite was down by 1.5%. The Nikkei 225 was down by 1.9%. Meanwhile, European markets were trading on a mixed note. The FTSE 100 was up by 0.1%. The DAX was up by 0.4%, while the CAC 40 was down by 0.1%.

Stocks from the sugar sector were witnessing buying interest today after a media report indicated that the government is planning to provide funding to set up an ethanol plant.

As per the news, to boost ethanol production, the government is planning to provide financial help to sugar companies. It was also quoted that government is being asked to approve interest credit of Rs 15 billion to mills.

Till now, the government has approved a loan of Rs 44 billion to mills.

How this pans out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we’ll keep you updated on all the developments from this space.

In the news from commodity markets, crude oil was witnessing buying interest today. Gains were seen as market participants took fresh bets following positive cues from Asian markets. Crude oil rose over 1.5% today to Rs 5,333 per barrel.

Speaking of crude oil, almost every time a rise or fall in the stock markets is invariably linked to crude oil prices.