Asian share markets are lower today as investors remained worried over surging oil prices and uncertainties surrounding the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

The Nikkei dropped 1.1% while the Shanghai Composite plunged 2%. Hang Seng is trading lower by 0.4%.

In US stock markets, Wall Street indices fell sharply on Monday, with the Nasdaq Composite confirming it was in a bear market, as the prospect of a ban on oil imports from Russia sent crude prices soaring and fueled concerns about rising inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tanked 2.3% while the Nasdaq stood as the worst loser and slumped 3.6%.

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

Benchmark indices opened in the negative territory following weak sentiments across the globe.

Market participants are tracking Dish TV's share price as the market regulator has asked the satellite television broadcaster to disclose the results of its shareholder's meeting held in December last year within 24 hours.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 46 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 27 points.

NTPC and TCS are among the top gainers today. Hindalco, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is up 0.8%. The BSE Small Cap index is trading higher by 1.2%.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed with stocks in the metal sector, the auto sector, and the banking sector witnessing most of the selling.

Power stocks and IT stocks, on the other hand, are trading in green.

Shares of Power Grid and GMDC hit their 52-week highs today.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.1% at Rs 53,492 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading up by 0.1% at Rs 70,039 per kg.

In news from the currencies space, the rupee is trading at 77.02 against the US$.

Yesterday, the rupee tanked 84 paise to close at its lifetime low of 77.01 against the US dollar as intensifying geopolitical risks due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict pushed investors to safe-haven assets. 

In the latest developments from the IPO space, Sachin Bansal's Navi Technologies is set to file its draft papers with the markets regulator this week for a Rs 40-bn initial public offering (IPO).

The company plans to launch its IPO in June, according to the current plans. Bansal, who launched Flipkart in 2007 and exited the firm after the Walmart deal in 2018, holds 97% of the firm.

The public issue will be entirely through an issuance of new shares, with no offer-for-sale (OFS) component.

This means Bansal will not sell shares to investors in the planned IPO. Besides him, Ankit Agarwal, cofounder and chief financial officer at Navi, and Paresh Sukhtankar, former deputy managing director at HDFC Bank, hold stakes in the Bengaluru-based firm.

Bansal, who has invested Rs 40 bn of his own capital in Navi, is expected to retain majority control in the firm even after the IPO.

Navi Technologies turned profitable in the fiscal year 2020-21 reporting consolidated profits of Rs 710 m. The company also saw a spike in income as revenues grew to nearly Rs 7.8 bn from Rs 2.2 bn last year.

According to sources, Navi is tapping the public markets to feed its fast-growing businesses in personal loans and microfinancing, besides its own mutual fund business.

While Navi is looking to raise Rs 40 bn in the IPO, it will also look to raise at least twice that amount through public debt later this year for its aggressive growth plans, which involve building a loan book worth Rs 200 bn over the next two years.

The company has charted plans to raise up to Rs 150 bn as debt from the public markets over the next two years.

Navi's current loan book is close to Rs 36 bn in size. This includes home loans, personal loans, and microfinance loans.

Note that the above IPO plans come at a time when India's listed new-age companies are reeling under pressure and eroding shareholders' value. Even Life Insurance Corporation had filed for an IPO but the Ukraine-Russia crisis has put India's biggest issue on hold.

Internet startups such as Delhivery and PharmEasy have got regulator's approval for their IPOs but are now unlikely to launch them due to market conditions.

How this upcoming IPO sails through remains to be seen.

Moving on to stock-specific news...

ONGC is among the top buzzing stocks today.

State-run oil and gas producer ONGC may weigh swap options such as crude oil against dividends receivable from its hydrocarbon blocks in Russia apart from other bargains if the Ukraine crisis persists for a longer period.

However, the sustainability of these oil and gas blocks is a bigger concern given that major foreign explorers, many of which partner with ONGC, are exiting the assets, according to company sources.

As Russia faces sanctions from the US and its Western allies for invading Ukraine, the biggest casualty has been crude oil. Brent crude oil prices crossed the US$100 per barrel mark on 27 February and are now hovering near US$130 per barrel.

Higher crude oil prices are an advantage for ONGC. The immediate concern, however, is that since Russian banks are blocked from the SWIFT facility, the company could face issues concerning the repatriation of dividends.

In fiscal 2021, ONGC received Rs 15.9 bn as dividend from its subsidiary ONGC Videsh for its JSC Vankorneft asset as against Rs 4 bn in fiscal 2020.

ONG also owns a 26% stake in the Vankorneft field from where it secures dividends. The company also owns Imperial Energy, however, operations here are limited.

ONGC's share price is currently trading down by 1.3%.

Speaking of ONGC, have a look at the chart below to see how the company has performed on the bourses.