Indian share markets recouped some losses during closing hours but still ended lower, dragged down by Bajaj twins and Reliance Industries and amid a lackluster trend in global markets.

Rising US bond yields hovering at a 13-month peak and a rise in Covid-19 cases hurt investors' sentiments.

The BSE Sensex shed over 900 points intraday and breached the 50,000 mark, while the Nifty also gave up 15,000 levels, down over 200 points.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 397 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty ended down by 101 points.

Tech Mahindra was among the top gainers today. Bajaj Finserv, on the other hand, was among the top losers today.

SGX Nifty was trading at 14,950, down by 82 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE Midcap index and the BSE Smallcap index ended down by 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively.

On the sectoral front, energy stocks, finance stocks, and healthcare stocks were among the hardest hit.

Shares of Mindtree and Lakshmi Machine hit their respective 52-week highs today.

Asian share markets ended on a mixed note today. The Nikkei ended higher by 0.2% while the Hang Seng ended higher by 0.2%. The Shanghai Composite shed 1%.

US stock futures are trading higher today indicating a positive opening for Wall Street indices. Nasdaq Futures are trading up by 60 points (up 0.5%), while Dow Futures are trading up by 152 points (up 0.5%).

The rupee is trading at 72.48 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by 0.3% at Rs 44,865 per 10 grams.

Here are the Top 4 Factors Why Indian Stock Markets Fell Today

Weak Global Cues: Asian stock markets reversed early gains and dipped while the US and European equity futures were mixed as liquidity concerns weighed on Chinese shares and benchmark Treasury yields traded around a one-year high.

Chinese shares extended declines on concern the nation's economic recovery portends less accommodative monetary policy.

Weak Macroeconomic Data: In a double whammy for the economy, industrial production growth re-entered the negative territory by contracting 1.6% in January, while retail inflation soared to a three-month high of 5.03% in February on costlier food items. That apart, WPI inflation came in at 4.17% in February, up 2.03% from January.

Rising Bond Yields: The 10-year US Treasuries yield stood at 1.634%, having risen to as high as 1.642% last week on Friday, a high last seen in February last year.

Rising Covid-19 Cases: As per a leading financial daily, India recorded 26,291 new Covid-19 cases today, its highest single-day spike in 85 days, taking the country's infection tally to 1,13,85,339, according to Union Health Ministry data.

In news from the IPO space...

Craftsman Automation's initial public offering (IPO) opened for subscription today. At the time of Indian stock market closing hours today, the IPO was subscribed 41%.

The IPO comprises a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 1.5 billion and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 45,21,450 shares by the promoter and existing shareholders.

On Friday, the company raised a little over Rs 2.5 billion from 21 anchor investors.

The company is selling its shares in the price band of Rs 1,488 to Rs 1,490 per equity share and at the upper band, the company plans to raise Rs 8.2 billion from the IPO.

Craftsman Automation is an engineering organization that is engaged in manufacturing precision components. The company designs develop and manufacture a range of engineering products. It is one of the leading players in the machining of cylinder blocks for the tractor segment.

The company counts Daimler India, Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, M&M, TAFE, Escorts, John Deere, JCB India, TVS Motors, Royal Enfield among its top clients.

50% of the portion of the IPO is reserved for qualified institutional buyers. 35% is reserved for retail investors while 15% is set aside for non-institutional buyers.

The company will use proceeds from the IPO to make repayment/pre-payment of the company's borrowing fully or partially and to meet general corporate purposes.

How the IPO sails through remains to be seen.

Speaking of IPOs, note that five companies are set to come out with IPOs this week to raise an estimated Rs 37.6 billion.

Craftsman Automation and Laxmi Organics Industries launched their initial share-sale today while that of Kalyan Jewellers India will open on Tuesday. IPOs of Suryoday Small Finance Bank and Nazara Technologies will begin on Wednesday.

Besides, the IPO of Anupam Rasayan is currently underway. It will close for subscription tomorrow.

As per an article in The Economic Times, the Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Nazara Technologies is likely to be the showstopper of the season, and that is exactly what the grey market is signaling at this point.

The premium on the unlisted shares trading in the grey market has plunged significantly for the other IPOs. But shares of Nazara Technologies have been surging in the unofficial market, with the premium over the IPO price soaring as much as Rs 840-850 per share.

We will keep you updated on the latest developments in this space. Stay tuned.

Moving on to stock-specific news...

ITC was among the top buzzing stocks today.

As per a leading financial daily, ITC is planning to expand its offerings in categories such as chocolates and staples, after a foray into cakes and milkshakes, as it tries to boost its food portfolio.

ITC is expected to launch packs of chocolates priced in the range of Rs 5 to 10, under the Fantastik brand, according to a BloombergQuint report.

The report stated that for this offering, ITC has already installed chillers in shops in North India.

The FMCG major might also launch rice and pulses under its Aashirvaad brand. ITC already sells salt, atta, and ghee under the Aashirvaad brand.

ITC's new products will be available in a month. Through the product launches, the company is working towards generating Rs 1,000 billion revenue from its FMCG business, the report said.

ITC has already launched three variants of cakes under the Sunfeast Caker brand at Rs 10 a pack, and three flavors of Sunfeast Wonderz Milk priced at around Rs 25-35.

The products help ITC compete with Britannia in the cakes and biscuits segments, and with Amul in the milkshakes category.

ITC share price ended the day up by 0.1%.

Speaking of the FMCG sector, have a look at the chart below which shows the performance of BSE Sensex and BSE FMCG index since 2009:

While Sensex has offered 393% returns since 2009, the BSE FMCG index has gone up a staggering 532% returns over the same period.