Asian stock markets are trading on a mixed note today. The Hang Seng is up 0.5% while the Nikkei is trading on a flat note.

The Shanghai Composite is trading down by 0.3%.

In US stock markets, Wall Street indices closed at record high as inflation figures exceeded expectations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 19 points or 0.1% while the Nasdaq Composite rose 109 points or 1%.

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

Market participants will track shares of BEML, BHEL, and Cochin Shipyard as these companies are scheduled to announce their quarterly earnings today.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 248 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading higher by 75 points.

Power Grid is among the top gainers today. Tech Mahindra, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index have opened higher by 0.4% and 0.9%, respectively.

All sectoral indices are trading in green with stocks in the metal sector and energy sector witnessing most of the buying interest.

Shares of Bajaj Finance and SKF India hit their 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 72.93 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by 0.2% at Rs 49,280 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading up by 0.5% at Rs 72,332 per kg.

In news from the infrastructure space, as much as Rs 3.5 tn worth of assets are likely to get monetized through InvITs (Infrastructure investment trust) and REITs (real estate investment trust) as a platform in the next one year, rating firm ICRA said on Thursday.

To date, assets worth Rs 2.1 tn have been floated through these platforms.

In the last two years, Rs 853 bn worth of InvITs have been monetized.

During the same period, all three REITs, valued at Rs 771 bn, were listed.

ICRA said that with InvITs and REITs now recognized as borrowers under the Sarfaesi Act, lenders to these trusts shall have adequate statutory enforcement options.

Earlier, the absence of this act was becoming a constraint for bankers to lend directly at the trust level.

Recently, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) had allowed insurers to invest in debt instruments of InvITs and REITs rated AA and above as a part of their approved investments.

This shows the growing comfort of lenders as well as investors.

Recently, Power Grid successfully raised Rs 77.4 bn via its InvIT IPO, which comprised a fresh issue of Rs 49.9 bn and an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs 27.4 bn by unitholders.

PowerGrid InvIT debuted at Rs 104 on the BSE as well as the National Stock Exchange, a 4% premium over the issue price of Rs 100 per unit.

Presently, it is trading at Rs 114.

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

Moving on to news from the power sector, NHPC is among the top buzzing stocks today.

State-owned hydropower giant NHPC on Thursday reported a nearly 80% jump in its consolidated net profit to Rs 4.6 bn for the March 2021 quarter.

The company's consolidated net profit stood at Rs 2.6 bn in the same quarter last year.

Total income during January-March 2021 stood at Rs 20.9 bn, compared with Rs 23.8 bn in the year-ago period.

For the full financial year 2020-21, the company's consolidated net profit stood at Rs 35.8 bn as compared with Rs 33.4 bn in 2019-20.

The company's board of directors also recommended a final dividend of Rs 0.35 per equity share.

This is in addition to the interim dividend of Rs 1.25 per equity share for 2020-21 paid in March 2021.

Moreover, the company's board also approved the proposal to raise debt up to Rs 43 bn during the financial year 2021-22.

NHPC's share price has opened the day up by 1.1%.

Speaking of public sector undertakings (PSU), have a look at the chart below which shows the performance of the BSE PSU index compared to BSE Sensex over the past few years.

As can be seen from the chart above, over the last decade, Rs 100 invested in the BSE-PSU index would have eroded to Rs 80, compared to almost 3x gains for the Sensex.