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Asian shares markets are trading mixed today, following a mixed close on Wall Street after much-anticipated US consumer price data matched market expectations.

The Nikkei is trading flat, and the Hang Seng index is trading 0.2% lower. The Shanghai Composite is down marginally.

The Nasdaq ended Wednesday at its highest intraday level in more than eight months, boosted by a slightly lower-than-expected increase in April inflation and Alphabet Inc's latest artificial intelligence rollout.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.2% lower and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended 0.7% lower.

Here's a table showing how US stocks performed on Wednesday:

Source: Equitymaster

Back home, Indian share markets are trading on a flat note following the trend on SGX Nifty.

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading higher by 57 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading up by 12 points.

IndusInd Bank and NTPC are among the top gainers today.

L&T and Bharti Airtel on the other hand are among the top losers today.

Check out the NSE Nifty heatmap to get the complete list of gainers and losers.

Broader markets are trading on a positive note. The BSE Mid Cap index is trading 0.5% higher and the BSE Small Cap index is trading higher by 0.8%.

Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note. Stocks in the capital goods sector, and metal sector witness selling.

On the other hand, stocks in the power sector and utilities sector witness buying.

Shares of Cera Sanitary and Bajaj Auto hit their 52-week high today.

The rupee is trading at Rs 81.98 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading lower by 46 to Rs 61,224 per 10 grams today.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading lower by 0.3% at Rs 76,491 per 1 kg.
 

ONGC to receive dividends instead of oil

Reportedly, Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has stopped receiving its share of oil from Russia's Sakhalin-1 but will get dividends from the field.

Until a little after the beginning of the Ukraine war last year, ONGC, which has a 20% participating interest in Sakhalin-1, used to get a proportionate share of oil from the field, which it could sell to anyone.

But now all the oil from Sakhalin-1 is sold by a new company Russia formed last year to operate the field, which had stopped production for several months. The company is now producing at near-normal levels of about 200,000 barrels per day.

ONGC has a 20% stake in the new Russian operator, which would give the Indian firm a proportionate share in dividends whenever they are paid out.

The ability to regularly sell Sakhalin-1 oil meant quick cash realization. Dividends may come only once or twice a year.

Since the beginning of the war, it's been hard for Indian state firms to repatriate dividends from a few other Russian oil and gas fields as Western sanctions have restricted cross-border money transfers.
 

Bharti Airtel achieves 2 million 5G users

Bharti Airtel on Wednesday surpassed the 2 million (m) mark for unique 5G consumers on its network in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Airtel was the first to roll out 5G in the country and Hyderabad was one of the first eight cities to get Airtel 5G Plus.

Bharti Airtel's 5G service is available in more than 150 cities in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Hyderabad, Warangal, Karimnagar, Vijaywada, Vizag, Tirupathi, Anantapur, Nizamabad, Khammam, Nellore, Guntur, Rajahmundry, Amadalavalasa, Chodavaram, and Asifabad are among the cities and rural towns where Airtel has made 5G services available.
 

Godrej Consumer Products Q4 results

Godrej Consumer Products on Wednesday reported a rise of 24.2% YoY in consolidated net profit of Rs 4.5 billion (bn) in the March 2023 quarter. In the corresponding quarter of the last financial year, the company's net profit was Rs 3.6 bn.

The revenue from operations rose by 9.8% YoY to Rs 32 bn in the quarter under review from Rs 29.2 bn reported in the year-ago period.

The operating profit, i.e., earnings before interest and tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was up by 37.1% YoY to Rs 6.4 bn as compared to Rs 4.7 bn in the year-ago period. The EBITDA margin came in at 20%, 4% higher compared to EBITDA margin reported in the corresponding period of the last financial year.

The FMCG company had a strong end to the year with volume-led double-digit sales growth in Q4. Consolidated sales grew by 10% in rupee terms and 14% in constant currency terms

Speaking of FMCG stocks, recently the Nifty FMCG index was trading close to its all-time high of 48,700. This was mostly due to its highest weightage constituent, ITC, hitting all-time highs every day.

ITC, with a weightage of 38% in the FMCG Index, significantly impacts its performance.

As one of the largest FMCG companies in India, ITC's strong financial performance and market dominance has made it a key player in the industry.

The FMCG index was one of the outperforming indices in the Indian markets with gains of 17%.

ITC, the leader in the index, gained 59% to close 2022 near an all-time high. The follow-up bullish momentum prolonged into 2023.

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