Asian stock markets are trading on a mixed note today. The Hang Seng is down 0.7% while the Nikkei is trading higher by 0.6%.

In US stock markets, Wall Street indices ended flat after data showed US manufacturing activity picked up in May as pent-up demand in a reopening economy boosted orders.

However, unfinished work piled up because of shortages of raw materials and labor.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% while the Nasdaq ended 0.1% lower.

Back home, Indian share markets have opened on a negative note.

Market participants will track shares of MTAR Technologies, Muthoot Finance, and PVR as these companies are scheduled to release their quarterly earnings today.

The RBI's 3-day monetary policy meeting will begin later today, amid expectations that inflation and growth concerns could see the Monetary policy committee (MPC) maintain an accommodative stance.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 330 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 76 points.

NTPC is among the top gainers today. ITC, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index has opened up by 0.6%. The BSE Small Cap index is trading higher by 0.5%.

Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note with stocks in the metal sector and power sector witnessing buying interest.

FMCG stocks and banking stocks, on the other hand, are trading in the red.

Shares of Magma Fincorp and PNB Housing Finance hit their 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 73.08 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by 0.2% at Rs 49,098 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading down by 0.5% at Rs 71,900 per kg.

Among gold ETFs, HDFC Gold ETF and SBI Gold ETF are among the top losers today.

Speaking of the current stock market scenario, note that the BSE Smallcap index touched a lifetime high recently.

Despite the index being up more than 157% since the March 2020 lows, Richa Agarwal, lead Smallcap Analyst at Equitymaster, believes smallcap stocks are set for a massive up move in 2021 and beyond.

Here's why...

As per Richa, the smallcap to Sensex ratio is a good metric to gauge while coming to some conclusions about relative valuations.

So what is this indicator suggesting now?

As you can see from the chart below, the ratio currently stands at 0.46 times, as compared to long-term average of 0.43 times.

Here's what she wrote about it in a recent edition of Profit Hunter:

• In the last year, the small caps have done well to cover the gaps with the large peers.
  
  But it could be premature to call this a peak.
  
  In the previous two rounds, the average ratio has been 0.57, suggesting more upside from these levels.

Richa believes if you focus on the quality of business, margin of safety in valuations, and an optimum asset allocation, you are likely to create huge wealth for yourself.

In news from the FMCG sector, ITC is among the top buzzing stocks today.

FMCG major ITC on Tuesday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 37.6 bn for the quarter ended 31 March 2021.

This was down 3% from Rs 38.6% clocked in the corresponding quarter a year earlier.

Sequentially, profit jumped 6.4%. It was Rs 35.3 bn during the December quarter of 2020.

The cigarette-to-hotel conglomerate's consolidated revenue from operations rose to Rs 154 bn during the quarter under review from Rs 125.6 bn in the year-ago period, a growth of 22.6%.

Segment-wise, revenue from the cigarette business grew 13% to Rs 65.1 bn from Rs 57.5 bn a year ago.

The FMCG-others business recorded a strong performance with revenue rising about 15% to Rs 36.9 bn in the March quarter.

The Agri business' revenue stood at Rs 33.8 bn, an increase of 78% from the March 2020 quarter.

However, the company's hotel business was severely impacted.

Revenue from hotels business saw a 38% drop to Rs 3 bn from Rs 5 bn in the year-ago period. During the quarter, it also saw a loss of Rs 400 m versus a profit of Rs 380 m in the year-ago period.

The company said there is a continued recovery in the cigarettes business with a progressive easing of restrictions and improved mobility.

ITC's board also recommended a final dividend of Rs 5.75 per share for the financial year 2020-21.

Moving on to news from the mining sector, Coal India on Tuesday said its coal offtake rose by 38% to 55 m tonnes (MT) in May on the back of revival of fuel demand from the power sector.

The PSU said, "Spurred by the revival of coal demand from the power sector, Coal India Ltd (CIL) scripted the highest ever coal off-take of 55 million tonnes for the month of May (in any year) so far."

As coal supplies surged ahead to 55 MT in May, the company recorded a whopping 15 MT increase in volume terms against comparable months last year, logging close to 38% growth.

Coal India's supply to the power sector at nearly 44 MT in May this year was up by 41%. The company supplied around 13 MT more to power plants compared to May last year.

The company said that it is confident of ramping up the production even at short notice when the demand peaks to even higher levels especially with the coal seams exposed.

Coal India has recorded the second-highest over burden removal growth of 17%, in more than a decade, last year.

The company accounts for over 80% of domestic coal output.

Coal India's share price has opened the day up by 0.8%.