Asian stock markets edged higher today after Wall Street indices set records as a streak of strong US economic data fueled optimism even as a smaller-than-expected climb in 10-year Treasury notes eased inflation concerns.

The Nikkei is trading lower by 1.1% while the Hang Seng is trading up by 2%.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1% to a record high of 33,527, the S&P 500 gained 1.4% to a record 4,078 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.7%.

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

India reported 96,557 fresh cases on Monday, according to Worldometer. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with chief ministers later this week on Thursday to discuss the Covid-19 situation and the ongoing vaccination drive.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 257 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading higher by 84 points.

JSW Steel is among the top gainers today. ONGC, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index has opened up by 0.7%. The BSE Small Cap index is trading higher by 0.6%.

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

Oil & gas stocks, on the other hand, are trading in the red.

Shares of SAIL and Time Techno hit their 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 73.26 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by 0.5% at Rs 44,999 per 10 grams. Meanwhile, silver prices are trading up by 0.7% at Rs 65,024 per kg.

The cryptocurrency market capitalization hit an all-time peak of US$ 2 trillion on Monday, according to data and market trackers CoinGecko and Blockfolio. At midday, the market cap was at US$ 2.02 trillion. Bitcoin was last up 1.4% at US$ 59,025 with a market cap of US$ 1.1 trillion.

Speaking of the current stock market scenario, note that the Nifty fell over 200 points yesterday. It was down below 14,500 in the first half of the day.

After the recent volatility in the market, the fears of a correction have only grown and those who were bullish a few days ago are turning bearish.

But is this the right way to think about trading? How should you react to this?

In news from the realty sector, Mumbai-based Macrotech Developers has sold properties worth Rs 500 billion in the last seven years (FY14 to FY20), making it the largest developer in terms of annual sales bookings, its Managing Director Abhishek Lodha told reporters in a virtual press conference.

The company will launch its initial public offering (IPO) on April 7 to raise Rs 25 billion through a fresh issue of shares. The issue will close on April 9.

The price band is set at Rs 483-486 per share.

From IPO proceeds, the company mainly proposes to reduce debt by up to Rs 15 billion and acquire land or land developmental rights aggregating up to Rs 3.8 billion.

Abhishek expressed confidence that its IPO will be successful given the response that the company has been receiving from domestic and global investors in pre-IPO roadshows.

He said the company's net debt for India's business is Rs 167 billion as of December 31, 2020. "Our debt will come down to Rs 127 billion after the IPO" he added.

Note that this is the third attempt by Lodha Developers to launch a public issue and list its shares on the stock exchanges. In 2009 and 2018, the company had filed IPO documents and also got the market regulator's approval but did not hit the capital market as market conditions were not conducive.

Microtech Developers revenue from operations stood at Rs 95.8 billion in the 2019-20 fiscal. In the first nine months of the last fiscal, revenue stood at Rs 29.2 billion.

The company posted a profit of Rs 12.1 billion in 2019-20 but has suffered a loss of Rs 2.6 billion in the April-December period of last fiscal due to the pandemic.

How the IPO of Macrotech Developers sails through remains to be seen.

Moving on to news from the banking sector, HDFC Bank is among the top buzzing stocks today.

In a Q4 update, private lender HDFC Bank announced that the bank's advances aggregated to approximately Rs 11,320 billion as of March 31, 2021, a growth of around 13.9% over Rs 9,937 billion as of March 31, 2020, and a growth of around 4.6% over Rs 10,823 billion as of December 31, 2020.

As per regulatory (Basel 2) segment classification, domestic retail loans as of March 31, 2021, grew by around 7.5% over March 31, 2020, and around 5.0% over December 31, 2020.

Domestic wholesale loans as of March 31, 2021, grew by around 21% over March 31, 2020, and around 4.5% over December 31, 2020, the bank said.

The private lender's deposits grew around 16.3% at approximately Rs 13,350 billion as of March 31, 2021, as compared to Rs 11,475 billion year-on-year (YoY) and a growth of around 5% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ).

HDFC Bank's CASA ratio stood at around 46% as of March 31, 2021, as compared to 42.2% as of March 31, 2020, and 43% as of December 31, 2020.

During the quarter ended March 31, 2021, the bank purchased loans aggregating Rs 75.03 billion through the direct assignment route under the home loan arrangement with Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC).

HDFC Bank's share price has opened the day down by 0.2%.

Note that, HDFC Bank is one that has always adapted to changing times.

HDFC Bank wanted to transform itself from a leader in physical banking to a leader in online banking. Since then, HDFC Bank has constantly focused on going digital.

In 2004, only 10% of customer transactions were initiated through the internet and mobile. The number has gone up to 92% in 2019.

It is a great example of a company that has taken advantage of its scale and embraced disruption rather than fear it.

These are traits that one should look for in picking stocks. They not only withstand the disruption but also gain from it in the long run.