Asian share markets are trading on a negative note today as a looming data dump on Chinese retail sales and industrial production offered a reason for caution.

The Hang Seng is down 0.3% while the Nikkei is trading lower by 0.4%. The Shanghai Composite is trading down by 0.8%.

In US stock markets, Wall Street indices ended on a negative note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, while the Nasdaq ended down by 0.7%.

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

Market participants will be tracking shares of Rites, CESC, and Welspun Enterprises as these companies are set to release their quarterly earnings today.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 12 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 5 points.

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

The BSE Mid Cap index has opened down by 0.1%. The BSE Small Cap index is trading higher by 0.3%.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed with stocks in the oil & gas sector and FMCG sector witnessing buying interest.

Power stocks, on the other hand, are trading in the red.

Shares of Jubilant FoodWorks and CRISIL hit their 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 73.35 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by 0.1% at Rs 48,492 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading up by 0.4% at Rs 71,524 per kg.

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In news from the edible oil space, Ruchi Soya Industries is among the top buzzing stocks today.

Ruchi Soya Industries will use Rs 26.6 bn from its share sale to repay part of its debt and utilize another tranche of Rs 5.9 bn as the working capital of the firm.

The Patanjali Ayurved-owned company is coming out with a follow-on public offer (FPO).

Just before the FPO, the company has acquired biscuits and noodles units from entities owned by its promoters for around Rs 650 m.

98.87% of the company's pre-issue paid-up capital is held by Patanjali Ayurved, Yogakshem Sansthan, Patanjali Parivahan, and Patanjali Gramudyog Nayas.

Reports state that the share sale shall help the promoters bring down their stake from 98% to meet market regulator's norms on minimum public shareholding of 25%.

After Patanjali took over the company, its shares were relisted in January last year. Since then, the stock has skyrocketed and the company's market capitalization has touched Rs 370 bn owing to low liquidity in the stock.

The promoters are likely to dilute their stake by 9% in the company via the FPO.

Ruchi Soya's promoter entities have pledged their shares to a consortium of banks, including to State Bank of India (SBI), Union Bank of India, Canara Bank (erstwhile Syndicate Bank), Indian Bank (erstwhile Allahabad Bank), and Punjab National Bank (PNB).

Ruchi Soya Industries' share price has opened the day down by 1.8%.

Moving on, insurance stocks are in focus today.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has notified the government's decision to increase the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the insurance sector under the automatic route to 75% from 49% earlier.

According to a press note issued by the department, the decision will take effect from the date of FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) notification.

FDI in the insurance sector was increased from 26% to 49% in 2015.

The announcement for hiking the FDI limit was made in the Union Budget 2021-22 on 1 February.

The new arrangement is expected to benefit 23 private life insurers, 21 private non-life insurers, and seven specialized private health insurance companies.

In other news, the second wave has pushed up claims for life insurance companies by 5-10 times for April 2021, as per a report by Macquarie.

The report added that there could be a significant impact on embedded value for life insurance players.

The embedded value is a measure used to determine the worth of a life company that factors in future liabilities based on actuarial assumptions.

Of the three listed life insurers - HDFC Life Insurance, ICICI Prudential, and SBI Life Insurance, Macquarie has projected 2%, 3%, and 4% impact on embedded value, should Covid related claims for the financial year 2021-22 be four times of 2020-21.

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

Speaking of the insurance sector, have a look at the chart below which shows the investment assets of non-life insurers and life insurers over the past 10 years:

Investment Assets of Non-Life Insurers 11x That of Life Insurers