Asian share markets are mixed today as investors eyed Chinese economic indicators due later in the day.

The Nikkei is down 0.1% while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.8%. Hang Seng is trading higher by 0.5%.

US stock markets were closed on Monday on the account of a public holiday.

On Friday, Wall Street indices rallied sharply higher as signs of peaking inflation and consumer resiliency with growing optimism that the Federal Reserve will be able to tighten monetary policy without tipping the economy into recession.

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

Benchmark indices opened in red following the trend on SGX Nifty live chart and mixed global cues.

Market participants are tracking shares of PTC India as the company will announce its Q4 results later today.

Sun Pharma declared its March quarter results yesterday where it posted a surprise loss.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 332 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 76 points.

Tata Steel and M&M are among the top gainers today. Sun Pharma, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is up 0.4%. The BSE Small Cap index is trading higher by 0.6%.

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

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

Sugar sector stocks are in focus today, days after the government decided to limit sugar exports.

Meanwhile, engineering sector stocks are also eyed as companies have started to announce major capex plans.

Shares of Schaeffler India and M&M hit their 52-week highs today.

In this volatile market, a few penny stocks are continuously hitting their 52-week highs. Several Indian stocks have delivered multi-bagger returns in a span of one month. But not all are worthy.

The rupee is trading at 77.65 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading down by 0.1% at Rs 50,901 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading down by 0.7% at Rs 61,446 per kg.

Crude oil prices rose today after the EU agreed to slash oil imports from Russia by the end of 2022, fueling worries of a tighter market already strained for supply amid rising demand ahead of peak US and European summer driving season.

In news from the steel sector, the government on Monday extended for the third time the deadline to submit applications under the production-lined incentive scheme for specialty steel till 30 June 2022.

Only 10 applications have been received from the players looking to invest under the Rs 63.2 bn scheme now, which was launched in July last year.

Initially, 29 March was the last date for manufacturers to apply for the benefits under the PLI scheme for specialty steel. It was later extended till 30 April and again to 31 May 2022.

It was reported last week that the government is considering an extension of the last date to submit applications under the PLI scheme with a few modifications like no minimum investment cap and setting up minimum capacity for secondary players.

The scheme will make India self-sufficient in meeting its specialty steel needs and boost exports and open up an opportunity to join the league of advanced steel-making countries such as Japan and South Korea.

In news from the FMCG sector, Nestle India has retained Publicis Group-owned media company Zenith India as its agency of record following a multi-agency pitch that included rivals Mindshare, Dentsu, and IPG Mediabrands.

The local unit of Swiss FMCG major Nestle is one of India's largest advertisers, with a media account pegged at over Rs 7 bn.

In April 2022, Nestle called for a pitch from other agencies, and the two-month process ended when the company decided to retain Zenith.

Speaking of Nestle, have a look at the chart below to see the company's stock performance over the years.

Nestle, being a market leader (96.5% market share) in the baby food segment, is a classic example of a good monopoly stock.

Nestle's shares have grown by over 600% since 2010.

Moving on to the latest developments from the IPO space, the market regulator on Monday tweaked the initial public offering (IPO) norms in a bid to ensure that only genuine entities participate.

The regulator is learned to have found out that some large institutional investors and high net worth individuals (HNIs) were putting in bids only to inflate the subscription numbers and not with the intention of getting allotments.

According to a circular released on Monday, the market regulator said IPO applications should only be processed if there are supporting funds in an investor's bank account.

In other news, leading B2B payments and services provider PayMate India has filed preliminary papers with the regulator to raise Rs 15 bn through an IPO.

The upcoming IPO comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 11.3 bn and OFS of Rs 3.8 bn by promoters, investors, and other shareholders.

Currently, the promoter and promoter group hold a 66.7% stake in the company and public shareholders own the remaining stake.

The company may also consider a private placement of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 2.3 bn.

PayMate is a multi-payment category platform that incorporates vendor payments, statutory payments, and utility payments, giving its customers a fully-integrated B2B payment stack.

Visa has a partnership with PayMate. It is also a shareholder in PayMate, owning 2.94% of the fully diluted paid-up equity share capital.

We will keep you updated on the latest developments in this space. Stay tuned.