Asian share markets opened lower today, with investors waiting for inflation and monetary policy clues later in a week full of key central bank meetings and data points.

The Hang Seng is down 0.4% while the Nikkei is trading lower by 0.1%. The Shanghai Composite is trading down by 0.5%.

In US stock markets, Wall Street indices ended on a mixed note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%, while the Nasdaq added 0.5%.

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

A total of 46 companies including Engineers India, Petronet LNG, and Suven Pharma are scheduled to release their quarterly earnings today.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 23 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 9 points.

Tech Mahindra is among the top gainers today. IndusInd Bank, 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 0.6%, respectively.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed with stocks in the power sector and the IT sector witnessing buying interest.

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

Shares of Cera Sanitary and Grindwell Norton hit their 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 72.77 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.1% at Rs 49,130 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading down by 0.3% at Rs 71,610 per kg.

In news from the defense sector, India exported military hardware and systems worth Rs 357.8 bn in the last seven years, according to a document released by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday.

The e-booklet, highlighting the major reforms undertaken by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 2020, also mentioned that the defense exports expanded to more than 84 countries.

According to the document, the value of India's exports in 2014-15 was Rs 19.4 bn and it increased to Rs 20.6 bn in 2015-16.

The value in 2016-17 was recorded at Rs 15.2 bn while it went up to Rs 46.8 bn in 2017-18 and Rs 107.5 bn in 2018-19.

The value of defense exports was Rs 91.2 bn in 2019-20 and Rs 57.1 bn in 2020-21.

The document listed acquisitions of the Rafale fighter aircraft, the appointment of the country's first Chief of Defence Staff, reforms in defense research and development, and increasing defense reforms as some of the key initiatives of the government in the defense sector in 2020.

Rajnath Singh exuded confidence that the reforms undertaken by the MoD will make India a global powerhouse in the defense sector in the times to come.

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

Speaking of the defense sector, have a look at the chart below which shows the top 5 military spending countries in the world as of 2019:

According to a SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) report, India was the third-largest military spending country in the world in 2019.

Back in June 2020, she recorded a video about India's best defense stocks.

You can watch the video here: The Upside in India's Best Bulletproof Defence Stocks.

Moving on to news from the finance sector, PNB Housing Finance is among the top buzzing stocks today.

Stakeholders Empowerment Services (SES) has said that the proposal by investors led by Carlyle Group to infuse Rs 40 bn in PNB Housing Finance is against the interest of public shareholders of the mortgage lender, parent company Punjab National Bank (PNB), and the government.

The governance watchdog has recommended PNB Housing's shareholders to cast 'against' votes against the resolution on the preferential allotment.

Last week, PNB Housing's board approved preferential allotment of Rs 32 bn worth of shares and Rs 8 bn worth of warrants to Carlyle, Aditya Puri's family investment vehicle Salisbury Investments, General Atlantic, and Alpha Investments at Rs 390 per apiece.

Puri is an advisor at the Carlyle Group and before that he was the managing director of HDFC Bank.

The transaction will trigger an open offer as Carlyle will replace state-owned PNB as the controlling shareholder of PNB Housing.

The open offer to acquire 26% shares from the public will be made at Rs 403 per share.

The SEC said this open offer is a mere formality given the present market price. It is highly unlikely that any shareholder would tender their shares.

PNB holds a 33% stake in PNB Housing. Post the capital infusion, PNB's holding will drop to 20%, while Carlyle and PACs will increase to 50%.

The SES has questioned PNB's decision to allow its stake to slip below 26%.

PNB Housing Finance share price has opened the day down by 5%.

Shares of the mortgage lender closed at Rs 881 yesterday and since the deal announcement, the stock has nearly doubled.