Asian share markets are on the rise today after robust technology earnings bolstered Wall Street and offset quicker-than-expected US inflation data.

The Nikkei is trading higher by 0.9% while the Hang Seng is trading by 0.9% higher. The Shanghai Composite is trading higher by 0.7%.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq led a Wall Street rally on Thursday as a strong quarterly report from Facebook parent Meta Platforms overshadowed concerns over slowing US economic growth.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is trading higher by 1.6% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended 2.8% higher.

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

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 lower by 135 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading down by 27 points.

Benchmark indices opened in the green today. As the session progressed gains were erased.

Wipro and Reliance Industries are among the top gainers today.

Bajaj Finserv and Axis Bank on the other hand are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on a positive note. Both the BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index are trading higher by 0.6%.

Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note. Stocks in the IT sector and telecom sector are witnessing buying.

On the other hand, stocks in the FMCG sector and banking sector witnessing selling pressure.

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

The rupee is trading at Rs 81.77 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading lower by Rs 81 at Rs 59,820 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading higher by 0.1% Rs 73,999 per 1 kg.

Now track the biggest movers of the stock market using the stocks to watch today section. This should help you keep updated with the latest developments...

Speaking of stock markets, the chemical and specialty chemical stocks in the last year were on a downtrend.

Increases in raw material prices, rising fuel and freight costs, demand moderation especially in export markets due to geopolitical issues, and inventory build-ups are some of the reasons weighing over the specialty chemical stocks.

However, these may be short-term disruptions.

The chemical industry in India is one of the biggest beneficiaries of China plus one factor, and its long-term story, especially for niche market leaders, remains intact.
 

Mankind Pharma receives a dull response from investors

Billionaire businessman Ramesh Juneja promoted pharmaceutical company Mankind Pharma, but failed to attract enough retail investors till the closing day of its much-awaited IPO. The dull response mirrors a global trend of waning interest in fresh equity issuances among retail investors.

The apathy among retail investors left the retail quota of the company's IPO book 8% unsubscribed.

The IPO was open from Tuesday to Thursday, wherein shares of Mankind Pharma were offered at Rs. 1,026 -1,080 per share.

The IPO saw sufficient demand from qualified institutional buyers (QIB), with the quota being subscribed 49.2 times. At the closing, the IPO was overall oversubscribed 15.3 times.

This was expected because just before the opening of the IPO, Mankind Pharma managed to mop up Rs 12.9 bn from anchor investors ahead of its IPO.

There were 77 anchors who were allotted a total of 12 m shares at a price of Rs 1,080 per share before the IPO was opened for the public.

Mankind Pharma's shares will be listed on exchanges on 9 May 2023.

Speaking of pharma companies, the Nifty Pharma index hit a 52-week low of 11,542 last month and witnessed a short-covering rally in sync with the market trend.

Pharmaceutical products were in high demand during 2020-21. As soon as investors realized the V-shaped recovery in global equities, money flew out from pharma stocks into aggressive sectors.

But recently the Nifty Pharma index rallied for straight five weeks and paused at the major hurdle on the chart.

(Click on image to enlarge)

Axis Bank Q4 results

One of the top Indian banks, Axis Bank, released its Q4 results for the financial year 2023. The bank reported a net loss of Rs 573 million (m) as against a net profit of Rs 412 m in the same quarter a year ago.

Axis Bank in an exchange filing said that it incurred a huge loss during the March quarter owing to purchasing cost of Citi Bank's India consumer division during the quarter.

For the quarter ended March, the private bank's total income stood at Rs 2.8 billion (bn) as compared to Rs 2.2 bn in the same quarter a year ago.

For the quarter ended March, the net interest income increased 33% year over year to Rs1.2 bn. The quarter's net interest margin was 4.2%, up 0.7% YoY.

Further, the board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 1 per share.

The bank stated in an exchange filing that it has successfully acquired Citibank India Consumer Business, which includes retail banking, loans, credit cards, and wealth management services.

The bank said that its position among major private lenders in India is strengthened by this tactical acquisition, which will also speed up the expansion of its premium market share.

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