Major Asian share markets fell today on growing concerns about a fresh Covid-19 flare-up in China and ahead of the release of key data this week on the world's number two economy.

The Nikkei rose by 1% while the Hang Seng fell by 2.4%. The Shanghai Composite fell 1.4%.

Wall Street ended the day flat on Friday as Treasury yields jumped following a stronger-than-expected US jobs report, which suggested the Federal Reserve may push further interest rate hikes to cool the economy and slow inflation.

The Dow Jones was down 0.2% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was higher by 0.1%.

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

Benchmark indices opened on a negative note tracking the trend on SGX Nifty and extended losses as the session progressed.

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading lower by 296 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 76 points.

Dr Reddy's Lab and M&M are among the top gainers today.

TCS and Bharti Airtel are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are also trading mixed. The BSE Mid Cap index is up 0.3%. The BSE Small Cap index is trading lower by 0.6%.

Sectoral indices are trading on a positive note with the exception of the IT and telecom sector. Stocks in the utilities and power sector witnessed most of the buying.

Shares of Siemens and Voltamp Transformers hit their 52-week highs.

In the commodity markets, gold prices fell. Today, prices are down by Rs 122, trading at Rs 50,657 per 10 grams.

Note that gold prices have fallen and have taken quite a knock in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading lower at Rs 56,292 per kg.

The volatility of 2022 has left investors confused. The unpredictability of the market has disappointed investors more than the ending of Bahubali - the beginning.

But lately, the stock markets have started to recover giving investors some reasons to be pleased.

Recently the Indian share market indices, more specifically investors of NSE markets were pleased. As of 7 July 2022, the index was trading above 16,000.

In news from the banking sector, Bandhan Bank is growing rapidly.

Bandhan Bank's advances grew by 20% from a year ago to Rs 966.4 bn as of 30 June.

Total deposits of the private sector lender also grew by 20% to Rs 930.5 bn by the end of Q1 fiscal 2023.

The bank's CASA (Current Account Savings Account) rose by 21% to Rs 401.9 bn. Retail deposits (including CASA) witnessed a rise of 15% to Rs 737.8 bn.

Bulk deposits were up 44% year-on-year at Rs 192.7 bn.

On the collection efficiency front, it rose pan-India to 96% from 84% at the end of June 2021.

In the March quarter, the collection efficiency of the bank was at 99%.

Bandhan Bank said the collection efficiency ratios exclude the NPA (Non-Performing Assets) but include the restructured customers.

This news might bring some much-needed relief to the investors because owing to heavy floods in Assam Bandhan Bank's share price was falling rapidly.

Further in the news from the auto sector, Tata Motors has announced a price hike.

A weighted average increase in the price of 0.55% came into effect starting Saturday across the range, depending upon the variant and model.

The company had taken extensive measures to absorb a significant portion of the increased input costs. However, to offset the residual impact of the accumulated increase in input costs, it is passing on a minimized price hike.

In January this year, the carmaker announced a marginal price hike of 0.9% on its PV range, effective from January 19. However, the company said customers who book their cars on or before 18 January 2022 will have no impact.

In August last year, the carmaker increased the prices of its PVs by an average of 0.8%, depending on the variant and model.

Last week, the company also announced a price revision of its entire commercial vehicle range. There has been an increase in price in the range of 1.5-2.5% effective from 1st July 2022 across the CV range, depending upon individual models and variants.

Tata Motors' subsidiary Tata Technologies has initiated preliminary steps to evaluate an initial public offer (IPO) on the back of accelerated demand in electric vehicles (EVs) and the aviation segment.

Tata Motors holds little more than a 74% stake in Tata Technologies, according to Tata Motors' 2022 annual report.

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