Asian share markets are higher today, following gains on Wall Street, with tech firms seeing huge buying interest on hopes a long-running crackdown on the sector by China is coming to an end.

The Nikkei is up 0.9% while the Shanghai Composite is down 0.7%. The Hang Seng stood out as the big gainer and rose by 2%.

In the US stock market, Wall Street indices rallied late on Tuesday to end higher for a second straight day as technology and energy shares gained.

The Dow Jones added 0.8% while the Nasdaq jumped 0.9%.

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

Benchmark indices opened in green following the trend on SGX Nifty. Soon, markets erased gains and turned flat ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) monetary policy outcome.

The Monetary Policy Committee unanimously took a decision to increase the repo rate by 50 bps to 4.90%.

It was expected that the RBI will deliver a second rate hike for the calendar year 2022 in this meeting. Last month, RBI raised the repo rate or short-term lending rate by 40 basis points.

FII & DII data is tracked. FIIs remained sellers to the tune of Rs 22.9 bn while DIIs remained net buyers to the tune of Rs 13.1 bn.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 281 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 76 points.

Tata Steel and NTPC are among the top gainers today. Nestle, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is down 0.6%. The BSE Small Cap index is trading lower by 0.5%.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed with stocks in the healthcare sector and the FMCG sector witnessing most of the selling.

Metal stocks, on the other hand, are trading in green.

Aluminum companies in India are trading on a positive note with Hindalco leading with gains.

The three listed REITs in India are trading in the green today. According to a US$44 bn wealth manager backed by Bain Capital, Indian infrastructure and REIT investments present a good opportunity for investors seeking a hedge against inflation.

Shares of Adani Power and KSB hit their 52-week highs today.

With volatility easing, several Indian stocks have delivered multi-bagger returns in a quick time. However, there are still doubts about whether a bear market will follow or will the markets rise going ahead.

The rupee is trading at 77.67 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.2% at Rs 50,889 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading down by 0.4% at Rs 61,995 per kg.

Crude oil prices edged up ahead of data on US oil inventories, with crude futures supported by tight supplies and recovering fuel demand as China's top cities relax Covid-19 curbs.

In news from the pharma sector, Zydus Lifesciences is among the top buzzing stocks today.

Zydus Lifesciences has received final approval from the US health regulator to market Adapalene and Benzoyl Peroxide topical gel, used to treat acne, in the US market.

A combination of Adapalene (a retinoid) and Benzoyl Peroxide (an antibiotic and skin-peeling agent), the gel is used to decrease the number and severity of acne pimples.

The drug will be manufactured at the group's topical facility in Ahmedabad.

Zydus Group now has 315 approvals and has so far filed over 420 abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) since the commencement of the filing process in fiscal 2003-04, the company said in an exchange filing.

Note that shares of the company are nearing their 52-week low and are in a downtrend since the start of the year.

In news from the engineering sector, Rites has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Grands Trains, a railroad company in Senegal, for technical cooperation in the railway sector.

The transport infrastructure consultancy and engineering company last month reported good results.

Total revenues rose by 20.9% to Rs 7.7 bn as against Rs 6.3 bn in the year-ago quarter. This was due to strong performance in consultancy, leasing, and exports.

The company's operating revenue, excluding other income, soared by 21.5% to Rs 7.4 bn.

For the full year, Rites logged the highest-ever operating revenue of Rs 25.8 bn.

The company highlighted that its overall growth in revenue mirrored the growth in all segments except turnkey, which it said has started picking up from January-March 2022 quarter.

Rites' share price is currently trading up by 0.3%.

Speaking of engineering and infra stocks, have a look at the chart below to see how the infra index has performed over the years:

The increased capex plans, backed by the government's announcements on the production linked incentive (PLI) schemes have pushed the index higher in the past one year.

Global supply chains are shifting away from China and India is a key beneficiary of that trend.

Moving on to news from the fertilizer space, the government is firming up a plan to develop alternative sources of plant nutrition, including biofertilizers and organic fertilizers, which will replace urea-based fertilizers.

This move is aimed at making India 'Atmanirbhar' in fertilizer production and controlling the year-on-year increase in fertilizer subsidy on the back of rising input costs.

According to a senior government official, a long-term plan is being put in place for the in-house production of these nutrients to cushion the farmers from the abrupt price rises.

In April this year, the government had substantially enhanced the fertilizer subsidy by Rs 1.10 lakh crore, over and above the Rs 1.05 lakh crore budgeted for 2022-23.

This took the total fertilizer subsidy for the fiscal to a record high of Rs 2.15 lakh crore for 2022-23.

How the above developments pan out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on the latest developments in this space.