Asian share markets are lower today on concerns that moderating inflation in the US won't be enough to prevent the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates again next month.

The Nikkei is marginally up while the Hang Seng is trading 0.5% lower. The Shanghai Composite is trading higher by 0.1%.

US stocks ended lower on Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve's March policy meeting revealed concern among several members of the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) regarding the regional bank liquidity crisis.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.1% lower while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 0.9%.

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

Source: Equitymaster

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

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading lower by 67 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading down by 17 points.

Power Grid and HUL are among the top gainers today.

HCL Technologies and TCS on the other hand are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on a positive note. The BSE Mid Cap index is up 0.3% and the BSE Small Cap index is trading higher by 0.4%.

Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note. Stocks in the FMCG sector and banking sector are witnessing most of the buying.

On the other hand, stocks in the IT sector and oil and gas sector witnessed selling.

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

The rupee is trading at Rs 81.94 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading higher by Rs 180 at Rs 60,808 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading higher by 0.4% Rs 76,204 per 1 kg.
 

Earning consistent returns in a volatile market

2022 was a wild, turbulent, and volatile year for the stock market. During these tough times, a smart man is the one who managed to earn consistent returns and not just some windfall gains.

Unless a brutal bear market scares you out of your systematic monthly investments, they are one of the most effective ways to benefit from the long-term stock market growth story.

Let us consider a systematic investment plan of Rs 1,000 every month into the Sensex between 2011 and March 2020 i.e. you start on 31 December 2010 and end on 31 March 2020.

December 2010 was a bull market top as the Sensex never closed the year higher than two years prior to it and till three years later.

Likewise, March 2020 can be considered a bear market bottom because that was the time the market crashed on account of the pandemic.

Thus, when it comes to timing, you were investing at a bull market top and exiting at a bear market bottom, the worst-case scenario possible.

So, what was the performance like?

Well, not so great to be honest. You would have earned an annual return of 6.6% on your investments. Throw in a couple of percentage points of dividends and the returns climb to around 8%.

However, this is India, and 8% annual returns don't quite cut it.

There is a silver lining though. Had you persisted for another 15-18 months, your returns would have climbed to an impressive 14.4%. Throw in dividends and you get a pretty respectable 16%-17%.

Here's how your journey would have progressed.

An investment of Rs 1.3 lakh spread over 129 months would have swelled to close to Rs 3 lakhs.
 

Mukul Agrawal picks stake in De Nora India

Ace investor Mukul Agrawal has picked up a 1.37% stake in specialty electrochemical solutions provider De Nora during the March 2023 quarter.

According to the latest shareholding pattern of De Nora India, Mukul Agarwal holds 72,785 shares in the company.

The company's shares have nearly doubled investors' wealth in the last year, rising 94%. On a year-to-date basis, the stock has surged 50%.

The company is majorly owned by promoters and promoter groups with a 53.68% stake, while the rest lies with the public.

De Nora India undertakes the fabrication, coating, and recoating of mercury metal anodes, coating/recoating of cathodes/anodes, manufacturing of components for Ion-exchange membranes, and electrolyzers for the chlor-alkali industry

Apart from De Nora, Mukul Agarwal has bought stakes in two other smallcap companies during the fourth quarter. He has picked up about 1.9% stake in infrastructure company Capacite Infraprojects and an 8.9% stake in airline firm Taal Enterprises.
 

Vikas Lifecare's subsidiary receives first order

Vikas Lifecare has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Genesis Gas Solutions has received the first-ever orders for ultrasonic gas meters. The order is worth Rs 30 m.

The company informed that Genesis has signed an agreement with SICK AG, Germany to supply ultrasonic gas meters for industrial and commercial gas customers.

Ultrasonic meters are considered the highest in efficacy in terms of accuracy and reliability, as these meters derive the volume flow of the gas by measuring the transit times of high-frequency sound waves.

The ultrasonic meters are eminently required at large-diameter gas pipelines where it is a commercial loss to use the mechanical drive meters.

Vikas Lifecare is a leading provider of high-end specialty chemicals. Its in-house research & development unit recently received recognition from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Ministry of Science & Technology.

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