Share markets in India are presently trading on a negative note.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 504 points, down 1%, at 52,636 levels.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading down by 143 points.

BPCL and Divi's Lab are among the top gainers today. HDFC Bank and HDFC are among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading down by 0.1%.

The BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.2%.

On the sectoral front, stocks from the real estate sector, are witnessing most of the buying interest.

On the other hand, stocks from the banking sector, are witnessing most of the selling pressure.

US stock futures are trading lower today, indicating a negative opening for Wall Street.

Nasdaq Futures are trading down by 12 points (down 0.1%) while Dow Futures are trading down by 133 points (down 0.4%).

The rupee is trading at 74.78 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.4% at Rs 47,885 per 10 grams.

Gold prices remained weak today in Indian markets amid lackluster global cues. On MCX, gold futures were flat at Rs 48,076 per 10 grams. In the previous session, gold had dropped Rs 400 per 10 grams.

In global markets, gold prices today were flat supported by a retreat in US bond yields and concerns that a surge in Delta variant of coronavirus cases could hurt the global economic recovery. Spot gold was up 0.1% at US$ 1,812.8 per ounce after falling nearly 1% on Friday, 16 July.

Moving on to stock-specific news...

Among the buzzing stocks, today is L&T Finance Holdings.

L&T Finance Holdings reported a 20% rise in net profit at Rs 1.8 bn for the June 2021 quarter, mainly driven by rural demand for farm equipment.

The company had registered a profit of Rs 1.5 bn in the same period last year.

The company said that Covid-19 related partial lockdowns in April and May had an impact on few business segments during the quarter under review.

However, with a gradual unlock of the economy from June, disbursements bounced back led by a faster pick-up in economic activity across farm equipment finance, two-wheeler finance, consumer loans and infrastructure finance.

Due to slower industry pick-up, the microloans, housing, and real estate business saw a moderate uptick in collections and disbursements.

Farm equipment finance witnessed 130% growth at Rs 13.6 bn as against Rs 5.9 bn in the year-ago period.

Infrastructure finance showed robust disbursement momentum post unlock and continued sell-down with Rs 14.8 bn disbursed during the quarter.

The business continues to see robust performance backed by higher sell-down volumes and refinancing, it added.

The company's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) rose a tad to 5.75% during the quarter as against 5.24% in the year-ago period. Net NPAs or bad loans rose to 2.07% from 1.71%.

From 2018-19, L&T Finance had started building macro-prudential provisions for any unanticipated future events which held the company in good stead.

Continuing this focus, as a prudent measure, it created additional provisions of Rs 3.7 bn in the quarter that is under review. With this, it is carrying total additional provisions of Rs 14 bn (1.75% of the standard book).

These provisions are over and above the expected credit losses on NPA and standard asset provisions.

How the company performs in the next quarter remains to be seen. Meanwhile, stay tuned for more updates from this space.

At the time of writing, L&T Finance Holding shares were trading down by 3% on the BSE.

Speaking of stocks, here is an illustration of the four phases that stock goes through during its life cycle. The cycle repeats itself after the stock goes through all these for stages.

This cycle defines everything in markets. If you can master this cycle, then nothing can stop you from making huge profits.

Moving on to news from the IPO space...

Clean Science IPO Shares List at 98% Premium Over Issue Price

Clean Science and Technology made a solid debut on the exchanges today as the stock got listed at Rs 1,784.4 on BSE, a 98.3% premium to its issue price of Rs 900. On NSE, the scrip got listed at Rs 1,755, up 95%. The initial public offering (IPO) was subscribed 93.4 times. It received bids for 1.2 bn shares against 12.3 m shares on offer.

The quota reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) was subscribed 156.4 times whereas the quota for non-institutional investors was subscribed 206.4 times. The retail individual investors (RIIs) quota was subscribed 9 times.

Clean Science and Technology manufactures functionally critical specialty chemicals such as performance chemicals, pharmaceutical intermediates, and FMCG chemicals.

The Pune-based company's customers include manufacturers and distributors in India as well as other international markets, including China, Europe, the US, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan.

At the issue price, the stock commanded a P/E ratio of 48.2 times while peers namely Vinati Organics and Fine Organics were trading at 73 times and 40 times, respectively. Note that Clean Science is the only company globally to deploy a vapour-phase technology that manufactures Anisole from phenol with a better atom economy.

The company has also developed unconventional processes to manufacture certain other specialty chemicals, which has led to the company's distinguished position as the most cost-competitive producer of critical products.