Asian share markets surged today amid broad-based buying across sectors as a rally in tech firms following strong earnings from giants Alibaba and Baidu improved sentiment.

The Nikkei advanced 0.9% while the Hang Seng rallied over 3%. The Shanghai Composite is up 0.5%.

In US stock markets, Wall Street indices closed sharply higher on Thursday after a good earnings outlook and waning concerns about overly aggressive interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve put investors in a buying mood.

The Dow Jones gained 1.6% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rallied 2.7%.

Back home, Indian share markets are trading on a positive note, following the trend on SGX Nifty.

Benchmark indices started on a firm note today as domestic markets looked to stabilize after the recent rout, supported by firm global cues.

Market participants are closely tracking FII & DII activity. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have turned into net sellers of Indian stocks while DIIs continue to remain the buyers.

Shares of JSW Steel, Nykaa, Ruchi Soya, and PolicyBazaar are keenly eyed as these companies will report their March quarter earnings later today.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 334 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading higher by 101 points.

Bajaj Twins and IndusInd Bank are among the top gainers today. Asian Paints, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is up 1.2% while the BSE Small Cap is trading higher by 1.3%.

Barring energy, all sectoral indices are trading in green with stocks in the IT sector, automobile sector, and finance sector witnessing most of the buying.

Shares of Blue Dart Express hit their 52-week highs today.

In this volatile market, a few penny stocks are continuously hitting their 52-week highs. Several Indian stocks have delivered multi-bagger returns in a span of one month. But not all are worthy.

If you're new and on the lookout for fundamentally strong penny stocks, check out the list of penny stocks to buy for the long term.

The rupee is trading at 77.62 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by 0.2% at Rs 50,949 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading up by 0.5% at Rs 62,118 per kg.

Crude oil prices eased today after surging to a two-month high in the previous session as investors focused on signs of tight global supply.

In news from the energy sector, Suzlon Energy is among the top buzzing stocks today.

Shares of Suzlon continued their downtrend and fell 5% today, having dropped 10% in the previous session after it reported a poor performance while reporting its Q4 results.

The utility company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 2.1 bn in the March 2021 quarter, which stood at Rs 0.5 bn in the year-ago quarter.

With today's fall, shares of the company have plunged about 35% in the last month.

The company said it has successfully concluded the refinancing of its debt of the State Bank of India-led existing consortium of 16 lenders with a REC-led consortium of two lenders.

Note that in the past decade, lenders have restructured Suzlon's debt twice. Currently, the market regulator is conducting a long-drawn forensic audit while lenders have agreed to bail the company for the third time.

High debt stocks like Suzlon are always considered risky while debt-free companies in India are considered safe because these companies are insulated against interest rate changes.

Suzlon is one such popular stock that has turned into a penny stock and never recovered. Have a look at the chart below:

From having a market cap of Rs 680.7 bn in January 2008, Suzlon's current market cap stands at Rs 77.2 bn.

In news from the finance space, HDFC on Thursday said it has sold a 10% stake in HDFC Capital Advisors (HCAL) to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority for Rs 1.8 bn.

With this sale, HCAL ceases to be a wholly-owned subsidiary of HDFC. However, it continues to be a subsidiary of the corporation.

The country's largest mortgage lender in April had entered into a share purchase agreement for the sale of 2,35,019 equity shares of HCAL, representing 10% of paid-up share capital.

HDFC's share price is currently trading up by 1.2%.

Moving on to news from the drone technology, RattanIndia Enterprises has acquired 60% stake in drone company Throttle Aerospace Systems (TAS).

The investment in TAS has been done through NeoSky India (NeoSky), a wholly-owned subsidiary of RattanIndia Enterprises.

The company did not disclose the financial details of the transaction.

Founded in 2016, TAS has been approved by the Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to manufacture civil and military-grade drones.

In a statement, the company said that this acquisition will enable NeoSky to provide full 360-degree drone solutions to customers such as drones as a product (DAAP - drone hardware), drone as a service (DAAS - drone service solutions) and software as a service (SAAS - drone software).

Note that RattanIndia Enterprises, a penny stock with weak financials to report, has been in the news ever since it started exploring investments in new themes.

Apart from drones, the company has also forayed into electric mobility space through Revolt Motors to democratize clean commute using next-gen mobility solutions.

Ever since the news came out that RattanIndia has forayed into drones and EVs, shares of the company have been on a roll. After languishing near the same level for around three years, RattanIndia shares have spiked and spiked hard.

RattanIndia is among the top drone stocks in India which people have been closely tracking.