Asian share markets are trading lower today amid profit-taking after sharp rallies in the previous session, as investors closely watched this week's corporate earnings.

The Nikkei declined 0.5% while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.9%. The Hang Seng plunged 1.6%.

In US stock markets, Wall Street indices closed modestly higher on Tuesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 hitting fresh records.

Both, the Dow Jones and Nasdaq Composite added 0.1%.

Back home, Indian share markets have opened in the green, defying the global mood.

Bajaj Auto, IndusInd Bank, ITC, Larsen & Toubro, Maruti Suzuki, and SBI Life will report their earnings today.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 81 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading higher by 22 points.

Asian Paints is among the top gainers today. Axis Bank and Bajaj Finance, on the other hand, are among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is up 0.5%. The BSE Small Cap index is trading higher by 0.7%.

Barring automobiles, all sectoral indices are trading in green with stocks in the healthcare sector and capital goods sector witnessing most of the buying.

Shares of TCI Express and SBI hit their 52-week high today.

The rupee is trading at 75.01 against the US$.

Crude oil prices fell today after industry data showed crude oil stockpiles rose more than expected and fuel inventories unexpectedly increased last week in the United States.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.1% at Rs 47,775 per 10 grams.

In global markets, gold snapped five straight sessions of gains, shedding nearly 1% as the dollar firmed and strong earnings lowered investor appetite for the safe-haven asset.

Spot gold was down 0.9% at US$1,792.4 per ounce.

Speaking of the precious yellow metal, how lucrative has gold been as a long-term investment in India?

The chart below shows the annual returns on gold over the last 15 years...

As you can see, barring just two years - 2013 and 2015, gold has delivered positive returns in 13 of the last 15 years.

The recent price volatility in the bullion market has rattled many traders. Even with the recent volatility in prices, gold remains among the best-performing commodities this year to combat the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

In news from the banking sector, Axis Bank shares will be in focus today.

Private lender Axis Bank on Tuesday posted an 86% year-on-year (YoY) jump in its net profit to post its highest quarterly profit of Rs 31.3 bn for the second quarter ended September 2021.

In the same period a year ago, the bank had posted a net profit of Rs 16.8 bn.

Street was expecting the lender to post a profit of Rs 29.1 bn for the quarter under review.

Axis Bank's operating profit for the quarter was Rs 59.3 bn while the core operating profit was Rs 54.6 bn.

The bank's net interest income (NII) grew 8% YoY to Rs 79 bn from Rs 73.3 bn in September 2020.

Fee income for the quarter grew 17% YoY and 21% sequentially to Rs 32.3 bn. Retail fees grew 19% and constituted 63% of the bank's total fee income.

Specific loan loss provisions for the quarter under review were Rs 9.3 bn compared to Rs 28.7 bn in June 2021.

The bank has not utilized Covid-19 provisions during the quarter. It holds cumulative provisions of Rs 129.5 bn at the end of September 2021.

Gross slippages for the said quarter came in at Rs 54.6 bn, lower than Rs 65.2 bn in the June 2021 quarter but higher than Rs 17.5 bn in the same quarter last year.

In a regulatory filing, the private lender said,

• Slippages in Q2FY21 moderated due to regulatory forbearances that do not exist in the current quarter. Recoveries and upgrades from NPAs during the quarter were Rs 47.6 bn while write-offs were Rs 25.1 bn.

Axis Bank's share price is currently trading lower by 3.9%.

Moving on to news from the IPO space, the initial public offer (IPO) of PB Fintech, the operator of online insurance aggregator Policybazaar, will open on 1 November.

The IPO will close on 3 November and the date for finalization of the basis of allotment with the stock exchange has been stated as 10 November.

The company has fixed the price band at Rs 940-980 per share.

The issue size is 6,07,30,265 shares, with a face value of Rs 2 each.

Through this issue, PB Fintech will raise an amount of around Rs 57.1 bn.

The IPO comprises a fresh issue of Rs 37.5 bn, along with an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs 19.6 bn by existing promoters and shareholders.

Last week, the markets regulator had given the go-ahead to PB Fintech to float its maiden public issue.

As of March 2021, over 48 m consumers have registered on the Policybazaar platform and purchased over 19 m policies from insurer partners.

In fiscal 2021, the annual number of visits on the Policybazaar website was 126.5 m.

How this IPO sails through remains to be seen.