Asian share markets gained ground today as the risk appetite of global investors rose heading into year-end, despite the surging number of Omicron variant cases around the world.

A better night on Wall Street provided the positive lead for Asian markets with a sharp rebound in sentiment for US stocks.

The Hang Seng is up 0.4% while the Nikkei is trading higher by 0.2%. The Shanghai Composite is trading on a flat note.

In US stock markets, Wall Street indices closed sharply higher on Tuesday, with strength in travel and tech shares as well as in Nike and Micron Technology following their earnings, as stocks rebounded from a coronavirus-fueled rout during the session before.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.6% while the Nasdaq rallied 2.4%.

Back home, Indian share markets opened on a positive note, following the trend on SGX Nifty. Benchmark indices mirrored global trends and rallied up to 0.7% today.

Metro Brands, the Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed footwear retailer, made its Dalal street debut today. The company raised Rs 13.7 bn via IPO between 10-14 December and sold its shares in the range of Rs 485-500 apiece.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 427 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading higher by 130 points.

Bharti Airtel and IndusInd Bank are among the top gainers today. Asian Paints, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index are trading higher by 0.9% and 1.4%, respectively.

All sectoral indices are trading in green with stocks in the automobile sector and energy sector witnessing most of the buying.

Shares of Minda Industries hit their 52-week highs today.

Zee Entertainment shares are also in focus today after the company and Sony Pictures Networks India Private (SPNI) announced that they have signed definitive agreements to merge ZEE with SPNI and combine their linear networks.

The rupee is trading at 75.57 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.1% at Rs 48,043 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading up by 0.1% at Rs 61,810 per kg.

Bullion is trading within a tight range as higher US Treasury yields and improved risk appetite countered concerns about the rapidly spreading Omicron coronavirus variant.

In news from the banking sector, Yes Bank share price is in focus today.

Private lender Yes Bank on Tuesday said it plans to raise funds up to Rs 100 bn through various instruments, including equity and bonds, to support business growth.

The bank said in a stock exchange filing that its board gave a nod for the fundraising proposal.

The bank will be seeking approval from its shareholders, which in effect would result in seeking an extension on the current shareholder approval that is set to expire on 28 February 2022.

Note that in March this year, Yes Bank's shareholders had approved with a majority for a Rs 100 bn fund mop-up by way of equity or other securities.

At the time of announcing results for the second quarter, the lender said it expects recoveries to enhance capital base in fiscal 2022 and have a relook at capital raising plans by end of the year or early fiscal 2023. Its advances had risen by 3.5% year-on-year basis to Rs 1.72 trillion by end of September 2021.

In other news, the Cabinet has not taken any decision on privatization of two public sector banks (PSBs), which the government had announced in Budget 2021-22, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

In the Union Budget for the financial year 2021-22, the government had announced its intent to take up privatization of two PSBs in the year and approval of a policy of strategic disinvestment of public sector enterprises, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

The objectives of the policy include enablement of growth of public sector enterprises through an infusion of private capital, technology and best practices, the minister said.

The bill related to the privatization of PSBs has been listed for the ongoing winter session of Parliament which ends on 23 December.

How the above developments pan out remains to be seen.

Speaking of PSUs, have a look at the chart below which shows the performance of BSE PSU index compared to BSE Sensex over the past few years.

As can be seen from the chart above, over the last decade, Rs 100 invested in BSE PSU index would have eroded to Rs 80, compared to almost 3x gains for the Sensex.

Moving on to news from the FMCG sector, ITC has raised its holding to 27.34% in Delectable Technologies, a company that operates the Azgo app and vending machines selling snacks and other fast-moving consumer goods.

The cigarette to hotel conglomerate informed the bourses on Tuesday that it has acquired on 20 December, in the third tranche, 1,964 Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares of Rs 10 each of Delectable Technologies.

Two years ago, ITC had agreed to acquire a stake of up to 33.42% in Delectable Technologies. It announced that it will pay up to Rs 75 m in four tranches.

The company had said that the deal will strengthen the presence of its FMCG products in the emerging distribution channel of vending machines.

Shares of ITC are presently trading higher by 0.2%.