Asian share markets are on a defensive mode today as a Covid-19 resurgence in China increased concerns that Beijing may reimpose strict pandemic curbs and that further restrictions could cause supply chain disruptions.

The Nikkei is up 0.7% while the Hang Seng is trading lower by 0.4%. The Shanghai Composite is up 0.8%.

Wall Street indices ended Monday roughly down on fears that China could resume stricter measures to fight COVID-19 after it said it faces its most severe test of the pandemic.

The Dow Jones ended 0.1% lower while the Nasdaq fell 1.1%.

Here's a table showing the performance of US indices and US stocks on Monday.

Source: Equitymaster

Back home, Indian share markets are trading on a positive note following the trend on SGX Nifty and tracking global cues.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 159 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading higher by 49 points.

UltraTech Cement and IndusInd Bank are among the top gainers today. Power Grid and Nestle, on the other hand, are among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is up 0.3% while the BSE Small Cap is trading higher by 0.1%.

Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note with stocks in the oil & gas sector, and the realty sector witnessing selling.

Meanwhile stocks in the FMCG sector and metal sector witness buying.

Shares of SKF India and Bharti Airtel hit their 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 81.8 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.3% at Rs 52,464 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading down by 1% at Rs 61,240 per kg.

Speaking of stock markets, PSU Banks are in focus and SBI has beaten Reliance Industries to become the most profitable company in Q2 of FY 2023.
 

What Next for Deepak Fertilisers after a Sharp Fall

Deepak Fertilizers' share price was on a dream run in the last year. On a YoY basis, the company has delivered multi-bagger returns of 118%.

However, in the past month, the winds have changed and its share price has taken a fall.

Deepak Fertilisers is down 26% in the last month.

Sequentially weak quarter and unseasonal rains are responsible for the dip in share price. However, the fall in share price looks like a temporary blip.
 

Jubilant FoodWorks to go International

QSR company Jubilant Foodworks has received approval from its board to set up a subsidiary to run Domino's Pizza business in Nepal.

The subsidiary will be set up under Jubilant FoodWorks International Luxembourg.

The company has not yet decided on the name of the subsidiary.

Nepal Subsidiary shall have the exclusive right to develop and operate Domino's Pizza stores in the territory of Nepal.

Following the news, Jubilant FoodWorks is trading in the green today. Finally, shareholders can heave a sigh of relief because Jubilant FoodWorks' share price was falling for a long time.
 

Lighthouse to Sell Nykaa Shares

Private equity player Lighthouse India will sell shares worth Rs 3.4 bn (about Rs 335 crore) in FSN E-Commerce Ventures, which runs Nykaa, through a block deal today.

The Bank of America Corporation is the appointed banker for the deal. This will be an additional reason to the list of reasons forming why Nykaa's share price is falling.

Reports suggested that around 18 m shares or 0.7% of Nykaa's overall stake would be offloaded by Lighthouse via the block deal today.

Last Friday, TPG Growth sold shares of Nykaa for more than Rs 10 bn. As many as 54 m shares of the company were offloaded at a price of Rs 184.6 apiece through a block deal.

Recently, Lighthouse India Fund-III sold 30,000,000 shares of Nykaa at an average price of Rs 175.1 per share, taking the aggregate value to Rs 5.3 bn.

Lighthouse India Fund III had also sold 96.9 lakh shares of the company at an average price of Rs 171.8 per share.

The stock of Nykaa, which got listed in November 2021, is in focus as the mandatory lock-in period for pre-offer investors came to an end on 10 November.

During the lock-in period, promoters and investors cannot liquidate the pre-IPO securities which they hold. As many as 67% of Nykaa's shareholding will be released from lock-in.

Last month, Nykaa announced that its board had approved the issuance of bonus equity shares in the ratio of 1:5 i.e., the company will issue a bonus of 5 shares for every 1 share held as of the record date.

Following the block deal today, Nykaa shares plunged 5%.
 

Why JK Paper Share Price is Rising

JK Paper has entered into an agreement for the acquisition of 85% shares of Horizon Packs (HPPL) and Securipax Packaging (SPPL). The balance 15% stake will be bought within a period of 3 years.

HPPL and SPPL together are India's largest corrugated packaging manufacturers with seven plants across the country. In the previous financial year, HPPL and SPPL had consolidated revenue of Rs 8.3 bn.

In the past month, the stock of JK Paper has outperformed the market by surging 13%, as compared to a 3% rise in the BSE Sensex. In the past year, it zoomed 105% on the back of strong earnings.

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