Asian share markets are higher today after three days of losses, amid continued uncertainty over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and ahead of key events and data due this week.

The Nikkei gained 0.4% while the Shanghai Composite fell 1%. The Hang Seng is trading 1.8% lower after opening on a flat note.

In US stock markets, Wall Street indices ended lower on Tuesday as investors weighed fast-paced developments around the crisis in Ukraine as the US banned Russian oil and other energy imports over the invasion.

The Dow Jones slipped 0.6% while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.3%.

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

Benchmark indices extended gains into the second session tracking global cues as investors continued to assess the impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 343 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading higher by 88 points.

Tech Mahindra and Sun Pharma are among the top gainers today. Asian Paints, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is up 0.8% while the BSE Small Cap is trading higher by 0.9%.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed with stocks in the IT sector and healthcare sector witnessing buying interest.

Metal stocks and finance stocks, on the other hand, are trading in red.

Shares of Arihant Capital and Sezal Glass hit their 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 76.88 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by 1.4% at Rs 55,000 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading up by 2.1% at Rs 72,870 per kg.

In global markets, gold fell, weighed down by a stronger dollar and US treasury yields, while palladium gained on supply worries as Western countries ramped up sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Crude oil prices surged as the US banned Russian energy imports, while nickel prices rocketed to a record peak on Russian supply fears.

While remaining below its peak of US$139.13 a barrel, the main international oil contract, Brent, jumped 4.7% to close at US$128.06 on Tuesday, below the high point of the day.

In news from the insurance sector, the market regulator has approved the much-awaited Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) IPO. The approval has come within 22 days of filing.

LIC had in February filed its draft papers with the market regulator. The issue would be an offer for sale of 31,62,49,885 equity shares by the government, which holds a 100% stake in the insurance behemoth.

A total of 50% of the net issue would be reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), whereas non-institutional buyers will have 15% of shares allocated for them. The retail portion has been fixed at 35% of the offer.

Note that there have been reports that the government may defer the mega LIC IPO to the next financial year, starting 1 April due to higher volatility on account of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

The government was expected to sell a 5% stake in LIC this month, which could fetch over Rs 600 bn to the exchequer.

IPO approvals are valid for a period of 12 months from the date of the regulator's final observation.

The LIC public issue would be the biggest IPO in the history of the Indian stock market. Once listed, LIC's market valuation would be comparable to top companies like Reliance Industries and TCS.

So far, the amount mobilized from the IPO of Paytm in 2021 was the largest ever at Rs 183 bn, followed by Coal India in 2010 at nearly Rs 155 bn and Reliance Power in 2008 at Rs 117 bn.

It remains to be seen whether or not the government moves ahead with its scheduled March 2022 launch.

Investment Assets of Non-Life Insurers 11x That of Life Insurers

Moving on to stock-specific news...

NMDC is among the top buzzing stocks today.

India's largest iron ore miner NMDC on Tuesday hiked the prices of lump ore and fines by Rs 400 a tonne each with immediate effect.

In a regulatory filing, the company said it has fixed the prices of per tonne lump ore at Rs 6,000 and that of fines at Rs 4,960 a tonne.

This is the second upward price revision in a matter of two weeks. NMDC had announced its last price revision on 25 February when the company had fixed the prices of lump ore and fines at Rs 5,600 a tonne and Rs 4,560 per tonne, respectively.

Iron ore is one of the key raw materials used to manufacture steel. Any movement in the prices of the mineral has a direct impact on the rate of steel, which is already trading at an all-time high in India.

The revised prices are effective from 8 March 2022 and exclude royalty, District Mineral Fund (DMF), National Mineral Exploration Trust (DMET), cess, forest permit fee, and other taxes, the company said.

NMDC, which has been in the business of mining iron ore for over six decades, produces about 35 MT iron ore from its three complexes in India.

It has set an ambitious target of producing 100 MT of iron ore by 2030.

NMDC's share price is currently trading up by 0.3%.