Asian share markets are mixed today, trading within a narrow range, after another forecast-beating US jobs report boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve will press on with its quick pace of interest rate hikes to fight inflation.

The Nikkei rose by 0.1%, while the Hang Seng was down by 1%. The Shanghai Composite is trading lower by 0.1%.

Wall Street indices ended mostly lower on Friday, weighed down by Tesla and other technology-related stocks after a solid jobs report torpedoed recent optimism that the Federal Reserve might let up its aggressive campaign to reign in decades-high inflation.

The Dow Jones fell by 0.2% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.5%

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

Benchmark indices opened in the green today following the trend on SGX Nifty. And as the session progressed, gains were extended.

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading higher by 162 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading up by 37 points.

M&M and NTPC are among the top gainers today.

SBI and Ultratech Cement are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on a positive note. The BSE Mid Cap index is up by 0.1% while the BSE Small Cap index is trading higher by 0.2%.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed. Stocks in the capital goods and power sector witnessed most of the buying.

Meanwhile, stocks in the IT and telecom sectors witness most of the selling.

Tata Elxsi and Wabco India hit their 52-week highs today.

In the commodity markets, gold prices fall. Gold prices are trading lower by Rs 30. Currently, gold prices are trading at Rs 51,844 per 10 grams.

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

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading higher at Rs 57,386 per kg. Silver prices have fallen a lot in recent days.

The rupee is trading at 79.5 against the US dollar.

In news from the retail sector, jewelry and watchmaker Titan posted its Q1 results last week.

On Friday, Titan reported a significant rise in its Q1 of the financial year 2023. Net profit stood at Rs 7,930 m compared to Rs 610 m in the same quarter last year. Its total revenue from operations jumped to 89.6 bn as compared to Rs 32.5 bn year-on-year (YoY).

It recorded its second-best quarterly revenue in the Q1 financial year 2023 buoyed by strong festive demand in a near normal Q1 that came after a gap of two Covid-19 disrupted periods of Q1 FY21 and Q1 FY22.

The company has added (net) 125 stores during the year. Titan's retail chain (including Caratlane) has 2,303 stores across 366 towns with an area exceeding 2.9 million sq. ft. as of June 2022.

These are some of the key takeaways from Titan's Q1 results.

Titan has been investors' favorite stock for years. Titan's share price has performed well on the bourses even in difficult times. Please take a look at the chart below to see its YTD performance.

Further, in news from the auto sector, Tata Motors' subsidiary inked a pact.

On Sunday, Tata Motors said its subsidiary has inked a pact to acquire Ford India's Sanand-based manufacturing plant for Rs 71,257 m.

Tata Passenger Electric Mobility (TPEML), a subsidiary of Tata Motors and Ford India (FIPL), has signed a Unit Transfer Agreement (UTA) for the acquisition of the Gujarat-based plant.

As part of the deal, Tata Motors will get entire land and buildings, a vehicle manufacturing plant along with machinery and equipment situated therein. The deal also includes a transfer of all eligible employees.

FIPL will continue to operate its power train manufacturing facility by leasing back the land and buildings of the power train manufacturing plant from TPEML on mutually agreed terms.

TPEML has agreed to offer employment to eligible employees of the plant in the event of FIPL's cessation of such operations, it added.

The government of Gujarat, TPEML, and FIPL have already executed a tripartite MoU on 30 May 2022 to support all relevant approvals for the above transaction.

With its manufacturing capacity nearing saturation, the acquisition is timely and a win-win for all stakeholders.

The Sanand plant has a manufacturing capacity of 3 lakh units per annum which is scalable to 4.2 lakh units per annum.

TPEML will make the necessary investments to reconfigure the plant to adapt to Tata Motors' existing and future vehicle platforms.

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