Share markets in India are presently trading on a strong note.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 308 points, up 0.6% at 49,969 levels.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading up by 122 points.

Tata Steel and JSW Steel are among the top gainers today. Bajaj Finance and SBI Life are among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 1%.

The BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 1.1%.

On the sectoral front, barring the power sector, all sectors are trading in green with stocks from the metal sector, witnessing most of the buying interest.

US stock futures are trading higher today, indicating a positive opening for Wall Street indices.

Nasdaq Futures are trading up 110 points (up 0.8%) while Dow Futures are trading up 58 points (up 0.2%)

The rupee is trading at Rs 74.35 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up 0.1% at Rs 46,405 per 10 grams.

Gold and silver prices edged lower in Indian markets in early trade, after a sharp up-move in the previous session. On MCX, gold-edged 0.1% lower to Rs 46,320 after hitting a one-month high of Rs 46,400 in the previous session. Silver futures dropped 0.3% to Rs 66,405 per kg.

Moving on to stock-specific news...

Among the buzzing stocks, today is Ashok Leyland.

Ashok Leyland through its subsidiary Switch Mobility, the U.K.-based producer of electric buses and electric vans announced its global expansion plans into India and its plan to create two subsidiary companies.

The first, Switch Mobility Automotive, will be formed to carry on the electric vehicle (EV) strategy in India, while the second, OHM Global Mobility Private, will focus on providing mobility as a service offering.

Switch Mobility Automotive brings together Ashok Leyland's capabilities both from Optare UK and Ashok Leyland's EV Division. OHM Global Mobility Private is a solutions company being piloted in India with plans to roll out mobility as a service (eMaaS) globally.

Dheeraj Hinduja, Chairman, Ashok Leyland, and Switch Mobility, said, "Switch Mobility Automotive will help us fulfill our aspiration of zero carbon emission transportation. With a strong presence and proven expertise in the commercial vehicle market in India and the experience of operating a large number of electric vehicles successfully in India and the U.K, we see huge opportunities for growth through Switch's expansion in Indian and global markets."

How this pans out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, stay tuned for more updates from this space.

At the time of writing, shares of Ashok Leyland were trading up by 6.3% on the BSE.

Speaking of electric vehicles, note that the power ministry has approved setting up 2,636 electric vehicle charging stations across 62 cities in 24 states.

Moving on to news from the IPO space...

Barbeque Nation Hospitality Shares Up 20% On the Second Day; Only Buyers At Upper Circuit Limit

Shares of restaurant chain Barbeque Nation Hospitality are locked at the upper end of the 20% intra-day circuit filter for the second day in a row today.

The scrip hit a high of Rs 708.5 and is up 44% from its listing price of Rs 489.9. At 10.30 am, there were 490,222 pending buy orders for the stock on NSE with no sellers.

The stock got listed at a 2% discount to its issue price on April 7, 2021, after the Bengaluru-based casual dining restaurant chain raised about Rs 4.5 billion through an initial public offering (IPO) between March 24-26, 2021.

The public issue was subscribed 6 times, which was lower as compared to the subscription received by some other recent IPOs.

The company owns and operates Barbeque Nation Restaurants, Toscano Restaurants, and You and Barbeque (UBQ) by Barbeque Nation. Barbeque Nation is one of India's fastest-growing and widely recognized restaurant brands in the rapidly growing casual dining restaurant (CDR) market

Despite the surge in the share price, analysts have raised concerns over the company's growth amid rising COVID-19 cases in the country and local lockdowns imposed by certain states.

The company has also reported a net loss in three out of the four previous fiscals. The total operating revenue of the company in FY20 was Rs 8.6 billion and the CAGR from FY17 to FY20 was 19.5%.

We will keep you posted on more updates from this space. Stay tuned.