Asian stock markets are higher today as investors took heart from gains on Wall Street for a second straight session following strong US consumer data.

The Nikkei added 0.5% while the Shanghai Composite is flat. The Hang Seng gained 0.2%.

In US stock markets, Wall Street indices powered higher on Wednesday in a broad rally after upbeat economic data and hopeful developments about the severity of the Omicron coronavirus variant that is sweeping the world.

The Dow Jones gained 0.7% while the Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.2%.

Back home, Indian share markets have opened on a strong note, following the trend on SGX Nifty.

Benchmark indices started on a firm note for a third consecutive day. However, the RBI's views on possible global headwinds amid the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus variant may keep indices volatile.

Medplus Health Services, India's second largest pharmacy retailer, made its debut on the bourses today. The company raised Rs 14 bn via its initial public offering (IPO) between 13-15 December and sold its shares in the range of Rs 780-796.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 471 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading higher by 137 points.

Bajaj Finance and Wipro are among the top gainers today. Asian Paints, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index are trading higher by 0.9% and 1%, respectively.

Barring telecom stocks, all sectoral indices are trading in green with stocks in the realty sector and IT sector witnessing most of the buying.

Shares of TCI Express and Infosys hit their 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 75.47 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by 0.2% at Rs 48,295 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading up by 0.4% at Rs 62,417 per kg.

In news from the mining sector, Vedanta's share price is in focus today.

Vedanta is targeting to raise up to Rs 10 bn through non-convertible debentures (NCDs), the mining major said in a regulatory filing yesterday.

For this, the company is holding a meeting of its duly constituted committee of Directors on 27 December.

The above issuance is pursuant to the Board of Directors' resolutions passed at their meeting held on 7 May 2019 and 3 October 2020.

Shares of Vedanta were in focus earlier this week after the mining giant acquired Nicomet, a leading nickel and cobalt producer which is based in Goa.

This acquisition is in line with Vedanta's ESG mission and is a big step towards supporting India's carbon neutrality goals. With this acquisition, Vedanta has become the country's sole producer of nickel.

Notably, nickel and cobalt are both key inputs in manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and are therefore seen occupying a leading position in the government's push towards renewable energy.

In other news, Vedanta Holdings Mauritius II, one of the promoter group funds of Vedanta, bought 679,15,740 shares or 1.82% stake in the company from Finsider International Company on Tuesday, bulk deal data available on NSE shows.

Shares of Vedanta are currently trading higher by 2.3%.

Speaking of the current stock market scenario, amid the ongoing volatility, have a look at the two charts below, in the order, they have been placed:

Near Term Volatility In Sensex Compensated By Long Term Gains

The year-on-year change in the Sensex was hardly predictable but someone who stayed invested multiplied every lakh nearly 14 times.

Timing the markets could be suicidal as valuations and volatility put the markets in a see-saw mode.

As an individual investor, you need to sit tight over high conviction stocks and invest consistently to see the magic of compounding.

Because 2022 could be extremely profitable, over time, provided you reset your portfolio with the right kind of safe assets and safe stocks.

Moving on to news from the IPO space, markets regulator chairman Ajay Tyagi on Wednesday raised concerns about the newly-listed internet companies using IPOs to provide exits to existing investors, adding that it will soon modify regulations for listing of such new age firms.

Here's what he said at an event:

Recently, there has been an increasing trend of new age tech companies also known as Growth Companies coming out with their IPOs.

Such companies access capital markets both to provide exit to existing investors and to fund their growth ambitions. These non-traditional companies offer additional regulatory challenges.

Tyagi went on to add that Indian stock exchanges ranked 7th in terms of number of IPOs and 8th in terms of IPO proceeds globally in 2021.

He also mentioned that the participation of retail investors grew sevenfold to 54.3 m as of November this year in comparison to 2019.

Tyagi stressed the need to tweak regulations for new-age tech companies that have a significantly different business model from the firms listed traditionally. He called on the merchant bankers who facilitate the IPO process to ensure fairness in pricing.

Note that the IPO mania has continued for quite some time now with many companies coming out with their issues in the bull market.

Take for instance this week's example. One company is getting listed on the bourses each day starting Monday this week.

Three companies already got listed (MapmyIndia, Data Patterns, and Metro Brands) while one is set to list today.