Indian share markets witnessed volatile trading activity throughout the day today and ended on a flat note.

Benchmark indices fluctuated between gains and losses as rising inflation in the US and the likelihood of lower earnings in the June quarter spooked investors.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 42 points (up 0.1%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed lower by 19 points (down 0.1%).

Asian Paints and UPL were among the top gainers today.

Coal India and Tata Motors, on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The SGX Nifty was trading at 14,724, up by 216 points, at the time of writing.

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index ended down by 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively.

Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with stocks in the metal sector, realty sector, and auto sector witnessing most of the selling pressure.

FMCG stocks, on the other hand, witnessed buying interest.

Shares of UPL and Welspun India hit their respective 52-week highs today.

Asian stock markets ended on a positive note as US benchmarks halted a three-day slide, with signs of a strengthening labor market outweighing investors' concerns about rising inflation.

The Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite ended the day up by 1.1% and 1.8%, respectively. The Nikkei zoomed 2.3% in today's session.

US stock futures are trading on a positive note today with the Dow Futures trading up by 145 points.

The rupee is trading at 73.28 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading up by 0.2% at Rs 47,545 per 10 grams.

In news from the IT sector, Happiest Minds Technologies was among the top buzzing stocks today.

Shares of Happiest Minds plunged over 8% in intra-day trade today even as the company reported a strong set of numbers for the quarter ended March 2021.

IT firm Happiest Minds Technologies reported a manifold growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 360.5 million in the March 2021 quarter.

The company, which got listed on BSE and NSE last year, had posted a net profit of Rs 53 million in the year-ago period.

During the fourth quarter, the company's total income stood at Rs 2.2 billion, up 17.6% year-on-year (YoY).

For the financial year 2021, the company reported a total income of Rs 8 billion, up 11.7% as compared to Rs 7.1 billion in FY20.

Its revenue from operations was at Rs 2.2 billion in the quarter under review, up 18.4% from Rs 1.9 billion in the year-ago period.

On a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis, the net profit fell 14.5%, from Rs 421.5 million in the December 2020 quarter. Its revenue grew 14.5% from Rs 1.9 billion in the third quarter of FY21.

On a consolidated basis, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) came in at Rs 588.3 million for the quarter under review.

In dollar terms, the revenue stood at US$ 30.2 million, up 18% YoY and 15.4% sequentially.

Commenting on the quarter performance, Ashok Soota, Executive Chairman of Happiest Minds Technologies said,

• "The highlight for the year FY21 was our successful IPO. We have been able to fulfill all our promises and are grateful to our customers, our team, and all stakeholders, who helped make this possible.
  
  As we begin FY22, we will look to achieving 20% organic growth as indicated at the time of our IPO".

The board of directors also recommended a final dividend of Rs 3 per equity share on the face value of Rs 2 each, for the financial year 2020-21.

Happiest Minds Technology's share price ended the day down by 8.3% on the BSE.

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Moving on to news from the IPO space...

Go Airlines Files DRHP to Raise Rs 36 Billion via IPO

Go Air has filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for a share sale to raise Rs 36 billion, as it rebrands to become an "ultra-low-cost" airline.

The Wadia group airline will use the proceeds to meet debt obligations, pay oil companies, and for replacement of letter of credit to aircraft lessors for lease rental payment and future maintenance of aircraft.

The initial public offering (IPO) is managed by ICICI Securities, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley.

Wadia Group-controlled no-frills carrier GoAir has been rebranded as 'GoFirst' ahead of its proposed IPO.

The rebranding comes at a time when a large chunk of the air passenger traffic has been wiped out over the last fortnight by the second wave of covid-19 infections.

The reason behind rebranding is to operate the carrier in an ultra-low-cost airline model, which would give it a competitive advantage over its peers, the airline said in a statement on Thursday.

An ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) is different from a low-cost carrier (LCC) as they typically operate different business models with unbundled fares which result in cheaper ticket prices.

Most Indian airlines like IndiGo, SpiceJet, and AirAsia India operate on a low-cost model.

How the IPO sails through remains to be seen. Meanwhile, stay tuned for more updates from this space.