Asian share markets fell for a second straight session today to one-month lows as investors speculated surging commodity prices and growing inflationary pressure in the US could lead to earlier rate hikes and higher bond yields globally.

The Nikkei plunged 2% while the Hang Seng is trading down by 0.4%. The Shanghai Composite is down 0.1%.

In US stock markets, Wall Street indices fell for a second straight day overnight, although tech shares finished well above their session lows following bargain-hunting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.4%, its worst session since late February. The Nasdaq slipped 0.1% to 13,389.

Back home, Indian share markets have opened on a negative note, following the trend on SGX Nifty.

Asian Paints, Pidilite Industries, Tata Power, Lupin, UPL, Voltas, Happiest Minds, and Sonata Software are among companies that will announce their March quarter results today.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 325 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 84 points.

Sun Pharma is among the top gainers today. Kotak Mahindra Bank, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index has opened up by 0.1%. The BSE Small Cap index is trading higher by 0.4%.

Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note with stocks in the IT sector and finance sector witnessing most of the selling pressure.

Power stocks and metal stocks, on the other hand, are trading in green.

Shares of Grindwell Norton and IEX hit their 52-week high today.

The rupee is trading at 73.51 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.3% at Rs 47,494 per 10 grams.

Gold prices fell today as a rise in US Treasury yields and a firmer dollar dented the metal's safe-haven appeal, while investors awaited the US consumer price index data due later in the day.

In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin was trading around US$ 57,782.

Meanwhile, ether hovered near record highs at US$ 4,332. The value of the second-biggest digital token has surged over 5.5 times so far this year.

In news from the FMCG sector, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Godrej Consumer are among the top buzzing stocks today.

FMCG major Godrej Consumer Products on Tuesday said Sudhir Sitapati will take over as its managing director and CEO in October this year.

Sitapati is presently executive director - Foods and Refreshments at HUL.

His appointment would be effective from 18 October 2021, following which Nisaba Godrej, who is currently the chairperson and managing director, will serve as executive chairperson.

Earlier this week on Monday, HUL had informed that Sitapati is stepping down. Srinandan Sundaram was named as his replacement.

According to the Godrej group firm, the appointment of Sitapati, who has spent 22 years at HUL, will enable Godrej Consumer to leverage his significant experience in building sustainable and profitable businesses to guide the growth strategy going forward.

Last year in June, Vivek Gambhir had stepped down as the Managing Director and CEO of Godrej Consumer. Nisaba Godrej, who was then executive chairperson, had assumed additional charge as MD and CEO.

At HUL, Sitapati had led the merger of Adityaa Milk and more recently, GSK Consumer business with the company, bringing iconic brands like Horlicks and Boost into the Unilever family.

Godrej Consumer share price and HUL share price have opened the day up by 10% and 0.1%, respectively.

Speaking of HUL, here's an interesting data on the stock, between 2002 to 2010, HUL's stock price went nowhere...have a look at the chart below:

A Journey of No Returns in a So-Called Safe Stock

The stock was basically in an 8-year coma. The returns could barely even make up for the inflation.

However, over the 2010 to 2020 period, HUL delivered a whopping return of 30% CAGR!

Moving on to news from the financial markets space, to strengthen corporate governance practices and disclosure requirements, the markets regulator has notified new rules, including that top 1,000 listed firms will have to formulate a dividend distribution policy.

In a notification, it said the requirement for the formulation of dividend distribution policy by the existing top 500 listed entities has been extended to the top 1,000 listed entities on the basis of market capitalization.

For the purpose of this clause, market capitalization should be calculated as of 31 March of every financial year.

The regulator has also put in place a framework in relation to the applicability, constitution, and role of the Risk Management Committee (RMC) and eased norms for re-classification of a promoter as a public shareholder, according to a notification dated May 5.

In addition, the regulator has asked listed firms to make available audio and video recordings of analyst and investor meets on their websites as well as stock exchanges within 24 hours or before the next trading day and also notified rules regarding Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BSSR).

Also, written transcripts of the post-earning conferences need to be made available on websites of listed companies and respective stock exchanges within five working days after such calls.

The regulator has amended the listing of obligations and disclosure requirements (LODR) rules, and the new rules have come into effect from May 5.

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