Asian stock markets rose today after data showed a surge in US employment. The Nikkei is trading up by 0.9%.

Chinese and Hong Kong stock markets remained closed for trading.

In US stock markets, Wall Street indices rose on Thursday, setting record highs, on the back of the strongest manufacturing data around the world in decades and a drop in bond yields that lifted big tech shares.

US President Joe Biden's sweeping US $2.3 trillion plan to rebuild America's crumbling infrastructure added to investor enthusiasm.

The S&P 500 touched a new high as it charged past the 4,000 mark after the Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity soared to its highest level in more than 37 years in March.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% while the Nasdaq added 1.8% to 13,480.

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

India recorded its biggest-ever spike of 1.03 lakh COVID-19 cases on Sunday, according to Worldometer. The Maharashtra government, on Sunday, announced a weekend lockdown in the state in a bid to curb the growing cases.

On the macroeconomic front, investors would keep an eye on the Manufacturing PMI data for March that will be released later today.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 339 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 91 points.

Infosys is among the top gainers today. IndusInd Bank, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index has opened down by 0.4%. The BSE Small Cap index is trading lower by 0.6%.

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

Banking stocks, energy stocks, and finance stocks, on the other hand, are trading in the red.

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

The rupee is trading at 73.35 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.1% at Rs 45,360 per 10 grams.

Speaking of the current stock market scenario, note that after the recent volatility in the market, the fears of a correction have only grown.

In news from the IPO space...

As per a leading financial daily, Indian stock markets will witness as many as six major companies offering initial public offerings (IPOs) in April.

A similar trend was also seen in March with a total of nine companies being listed on the bourses. These included Laxmi Organic Industries, MTAR Technologies, Nazara Technologies, Easy Trip Planners, Heranba Industries, Craftsman Automation, Suryoday Small Finance Bank, Anupam Rasayan India, and Kalyan Jewellers India.

IPOs like MTAR Technologies and Nazara Technologies listed with whopping premiums of 85% and 79%, respectively, and the biggest issue in terms of size in the month of March was Kalyan Jewellers IPO, which raised Rs 11.8 billion from the primary market.

The public offering of Macrotech Developers will open on April 7 and close on April 9. The issue price for the IPO has been fixed at Rs 483 - 486 per share. Through the IPO, the company aims to raise Rs 25 billion.

Meanwhile, the IPO of Dodla Dairy will reportedly comprise a fresh issue of up to Rs 500 million by the company and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 10.09 million equity shares by the promoters and an investor.

Seven Islands Shipping is aiming to raise Rs 6 billion through the IPO which will comprise a fundraise via fresh issue amounting to Rs 4 billion and an OFS aggregating up to Rs 2 billion.

Apart from these, through the Rs 73 billion IPO, Aadhar Housing Finance will issue fresh shares worth Rs 15 billion. The IPO is backed by private equity firm Blackstone which will sell existing shares worth Rs 25 billion in the IPO.

How the above IPOs sail through remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on the latest developments in this space.

Moving on to stock-specific news...

Dr Reddy's Laboratories is among the top buzzing stocks today.

An expert panel of India's central drug authority has sought additional data and information from Dr Reddy's Laboratories, which has sought emergency use authorization for the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V while deferring its decision on it till the next meeting.

In light of a February 24 meeting of the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19 of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), the firm presented the interim safety and immunogenicity data of the Gam-COVID-Vac combined vector vaccine generated in the country, along with the interim data from the ongoing Russian study.

The SEC recommended that the firm should present data pertaining to all immunogenicity parameters, unblinded data of serious adverse events, and RT-PCR positive cases, along with causality analysis reported to date for further examination.

Note that on February 19, Dr Reddy's had approached drug regulator DCGI for emergency use authorization (EUA) for Sputnik V.

In September last year, Dr Reddy's partnered with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to conduct the clinical trials of Sputnik V and for its distribution rights in India.

The DCGI has already given the EUA nod to two COVID-19 vaccines - Covaxin of Bharat Biotech and Covishield of Oxford-AstraZeneca, being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India in Pune.

Dr Reddy's Lab share price has opened the day down by 1%.

Here's interesting data on Dr. Reddy's Lab, investing just Rs 100,000 in Dr. Reddy's Labs in 1992, it would have given a whopping Rs 4.89 crores in 2014!