Asian stock markets are trading on a strong note today tracking Wall Street gains overnight.

The Hang Seng is trading up by 1.2% while the Nikkei is trading up by 0.6%. The Shanghai Composite is trading higher by 1.6%.

In US stock markets, Wall Street indices climbed on Monday, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq jumping more than 1% as a retreat in US Treasury yields helped lift expensive stocks in sectors such as technology.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% while the Nasdaq Composite added 1.4%.

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

Market participants will track shares of Emami, VIP Industries, Alkem Laboratories, and AstraZeneca Pharma as these companies are set to announce their quarterly results today.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 235 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading higher by 68 points.

Asian Paints is among the top gainers today. HDFC Bank, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index have opened up by 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively.

Barring banking stocks, all sectoral indices are trading in green with stocks in the metal sector, power sector, and FMCG sector witnessing most of the buying interest.

Shares of Asian Paints and Adani Transmission hit their 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 72.85 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.2% at Rs 48,450 per 10 grams. Meanwhile, silver prices are trading down by 0.5% at Rs 71,495 per kg.

Speaking of the current stock market scenario, note that small cap stocks are on a roll recently.

Despite the BSE Smallcap index is up more than 157% since the March 2020 lows, Richa believes smallcap stocks are set for a massive up move in 2021 and beyond.

Here's why...

As can be seen from the chart above, the rebound in the smallcap index at 157% is way below past rebounds which have ranged from 210% to 293%.

In news from the textiles sector, Grasim Industries is among the top buzzing stocks today.

Grasim Industries on Monday said its consolidated net profit for the March quarter rose 13.3% to Rs 26.2 bn from Rs 23.1 bn in the same quarter last year.

Revenues jumped to Rs 244 bn from Rs 193.5 bn in the corresponding quarter last year.

EBITDA for the quarter surged 62% YoY to Rs 51.4 bn.

The company said for its viscose business, the buoyancy in the domestic demand was reflected in 9% YoY growth in the domestic sales, while its chemical business, especially the advanced material sales volume growth was driven by demand across segments, especially from the wind and auto segment.

The company added that its paint business is making progress in line with the plans.

"While the signs of economic recovery picking up the momentum was visible during the Q4FY21, the impact of the second wave of Covid-19 on economic activity needs to be assessed," the company said.

The company's board also recommended a dividend of Rs 5 per equity share and a special dividend of Rs 4 per share for the year ended March 2021.

Grasim Industries' share price has opened the day up by 0.1%.

Moving on to news from the banking sector, banking tech start-up Zeta joined the ranks of unicorn companies after it raised US$ 250 m in funding from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 at a valuation of US$ 1.45 bn.

Sodexo also participated as an additional minority investor in the round that is part of the company's series C investment.

Zeta plans to deploy the capital to fuel its growth in India, the US, and Europe.

With this, the Indian start-up sector has now added 14 unicorns this year.

The San Francisco and Bengaluru-based Zeta provides modern credit, debit processing, BNPL (buy now pay later), core banking, and mobile experiences to banking and fintech companies.

Zeta caters to over 10 banks and 25 fintech firms across eight countries, including Sodexo, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Axis Bank.

The company has a presence in North America, LATAM, UK, Europe, and Asia.

We will keep you updated on what's brewing up in the startup space. Stay tuned.