Major Asian share markets opened lower today after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell declared his commitment to rate hikes to fight inflation last week.

The Nikkei fell by 2.8% while the Hang Seng was up by 0.9%. The Shanghai Composite is trading higher by 0.5%.

Wall Street indices ended Friday deep in the red with all three benchmarks more than 3% lower, as Powell's signal that the central bank would keep hiking rates to tame inflation nixed nascent hopes for a more modest path among some investors.

The Dow Jones fell by 3% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was trading lower by 3.9%.

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

Benchmark indices opened deep in the red today following the trend on SGX Nifty. However, as the session progressed, some losses were erased.

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading lower by 813 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading down by 248 points.

The BSE fell more than 1,400 points in pre-opening trade.

HUL and UltraTech Cement are among the top gainers today.

Tech Mahindra and Infosys are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on a negative note. The BSE Mid Cap index is down by 1.1% while the BSE Small Cap index is trading lower by 1.1%.

Sectoral indices are trading negatively, with stocks in the metal sector and IT sector witnessing most of the buying.

IT stocks are falling once again mirroring the huge fall on the Nasdaq index.

Thermax and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders hit their 52-week high today.

In the commodity markets, gold prices fall. Gold prices are trading lower by Rs 454. Currently, gold prices are trading at Rs 51,248 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 54,850 per kg. Silver prices to have fallen a lot in recent days.

The rupee is trading at 80.04 against the US dollar.

Speaking of stock markets, on Friday, the Nifty 50 saw a sharp fall in the last hour of trading. However, the small-cap index stood against the odds and ended in gains.

Overall, the market correction ended in June 2022. After that, the small-cap index rallied over 20%. Take a look at the chart below.

 In the news from the cement sector, UltraTech Cement expands capacity.

UltraTech Cement, an Aditya Birla group company, has completed an expansion of 1.3 mtpa capacity at Dalla Cement Works in Uttar Pradesh.

This is part of the first phase of capacity expansion announced in December 2020.

With this commissioning, the company's total cement manufacturing capacity in India now stands at 115.85 mtpa.

UltraTech Cement, the cement flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, is the third largest cement producer in the world, outside of China.

On a consolidated basis, the cement major reported a 7% decline in net profit to Rs 15.8 m in Q1 of the financial year 2022-23 as against Rs 17 bn recorded in Q1 of the financial year 2021-22.

Net sales surged 28.3% to Rs 150.1 bn in the quarter that ended 30 June 2022 as against Rs 117 bn posted in the same quarter a year ago.

Further, in the agriculture sector, all subsidized fertilizers will be sold under a single brand.

All subsidized fertilizers including urea and Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) will be sold under the single brand 'Bharat' from October, a move aimed at ensuring the timely availability of soil nutrients to farmers and reducing the freight subsidy.

Announcing the new initiative 'One Nation One Fertiliser' under the fertilizer subsidy scheme 'Pradhanmantri Bhartiya Janurvarak Pariyojna (PMBJP)', Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said,

"The companies are allowed to display their name, brand, logo and other relevant product information only on one-third space of their bags."

On the remaining two-thirds of the space, the Bharat brand and PMBJP logo will have to be shown. The companies have been given time till year-end to clear their old stock.

In the last financial year, the central government incurred a fertilizer subsidy bill of Rs 1.62 tn.

In view of a sharp rise in global prices in the last 5-6 months, the government's subsidy bill is estimated to rise to Rs 2.25 tn in the current fiscal.

The government subsidizes 80% of the retail price of urea, 65% of DAP, 55% of NPKs, and 31% of Muriate of Potash (MoP) prices. Freight subsidy is also provided in the range of Rs 600-900 bn annually.

Although the specifications of fertilizers manufactured by different companies are the same as per the Fertiliser Control Order 1985 across the nation, the products are manufactured and marketed under different brands in different states.

There is a criss-cross movement of fertilizers across states, causing delays in the transportation of soil nutrients and putting a freight subsidy burden on the government.

For instance, cooperatives IFFCO and KRIBCO have their manufacturing units in Uttar Pradesh but they transport and sell their products in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

In some cases, fertilizers are manufactured in western India for marketing in the country's Eastern region.

The agriculture industry is ramping up in automation given that India still has some of the most archaic farm systems in the world.

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