Asian share markets fell today as investor fears over a looming recession crimped risk appetite, while treasury yields rose on expectations that the Federal Reserve will remain aggressive in its interest rate hikes.

The Nikkei fell by 1% while the Hang Seng was down 2.4%. The Shanghai Composite is trading lower by 0.4%.

US stocks snapped a two-day streak of gains on Wednesday as weakness in shares of Abbott Laboratories and a rise in Treasury yields sapped momentum from the current earnings season and outweighed a surge in Netflix Inc shares.

The Dow Jones fell 0.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended lower by 0.9%.

Back home, Indian share markets are trading on a negative note.

Benchmark indices opened on a negative note today following the trend on SGX Nifty. As the session progressed, some of the losses were erased.

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading lower by 111 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading down by 38 points.

Nestle and HCL Technologies are among the top gainers today.

IndusInd Bank and Titan are among the top losers today.

Tracxn Tech made its debut on the bourses today and is listed at a 6% premium.

Broader markets are trading on a negative note. The BSE Mid Cap index is down by 0.7% and the BSE Small Cap index is trading lower by 0.3%.

Sectoral indices are trading on a negative note. Stocks in the realty sector and consumer durables sector witness selling.

From the IT space, TCS is among the top gainers. Meanwhile, Tata Elxsi share price is falling post quarterly results.

Shares of ITC and Aegis Logistics hit their 52-week high today. ITC is set to declare earnings today.

In the commodity markets, gold prices trade lower by Rs 197 at Rs 50,217 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading lower at Rs 56,619 per 1 kg.

The rupee is trading at 83.1 against the US dollar. The rupee touched its record low.

Speaking of stock markets, small-caps and multibaggers often go hand in hand. Small-cap companies are often growing companies and have a lot of potentials.

Buying small-cap stocks for the long term could prove to be a successful and courageous idea. For long-term investors, any correction that happens in the market would be an opportunity to enter quality stocks at attractive prices.
 

Biggest IPO generates biggest losses

In news from the insurance sector, LIC share price is falling.

In the last two years, LIC has lost 8% of its market share to private life insurers. On a CAGR basis, for the last two years, the retail weighted received premium (RWRP) growth was 10.2% for private life insurers, while LIC's RWRP fell by 6.6%.

The life insurance sector was already under pressure because of the Covid-19 wave. An increasing amount of claims left the insurance companies financially stressed. But even as the covid-19 wave passed out, the growth of LIC has remained slow.

Shares of the PSU company have been hitting lows every passing day! Take a look at the chart below:

It remains to be seen how and when LIC shares will recover.
 

Vedanta's Arm Balco Wins a Bid

In news from the metal sector, Vedanta has good news for its investors.

Vedanta on Wednesday said that its arm Balco has won the bid for a coal block in Chhattisgarh.

The company emerged as a successful bidder for the mine during the fourth round of commercial coal mine auction conducted by the government.

The coal block is an optimal fit for Balco, given its logistical location.

Once operational, the mine will provide fuel security, enhance power availability, and further strengthen Balco's operations and performance.

The block has an estimated reserves of 900 m tonnes.

Balco was incorporated in 1965 as the first public sector undertaking in the country.

In 2001 the Centre disinvested 51% of shares of Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd (BALCO) to Sterlite Industries Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta. The remaining 49% is with the Centre.
 

IndusInd Bank declared quarterly results, and share price falls

In news from the banking sector, IndusInd Bank posted its quarterly results yesterday.

IndusInd Bank on Wednesday reported a sharp 60.4% year-on-year (YoY) rise in net profit for the quarter that ended September to Rs 178.7 bn. Net interest income for the quarter rose nearly 18% to Rs 430.2 bn.

Provisions during the quarter fell over 33% on year to Rs 114.1 bn. In the previous quarter, provisions stood at Rs 125 bn.

The private sector lender's asset quality improved during the quarter, with the gross non-performing asset ratio dipping to 2.1% from 2.4% a quarter ago and 2.8% a year ago.

The net non-performing asset ratio dropped to 0.6% from 0.7% a quarter ago and 0.8% a year ago.

Operating profit in the quarter rose nearly 11% on year to Rs 351.9 bn. The bank held a contingency provision of Rs 265.3 bn as of 30 September 2022.

Post-declaring results, shares of IndusInd Bank slipped over 5% today. IndusInd Bank's share price was falling in July 2022 too and saw a similar movement.

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