Asian share markets mostly opened higher today after minutes from a Federal Reserve meeting showed that US central bankers are determined to fight inflation despite recession worries.

The Nikkei rose by 0.7% while the Hang Seng fell by 0.8%. The Shanghai Composite is marginally low.

Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday as investors absorbed the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting, which offered new clues on the central bank's rate policy and inflation fight.

The Dow Jones was up 0.2% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was higher by 0.4%.

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

Benchmark indices opened on a strong note tracking the trend on SGX Nifty and extended gains as the session progressed.

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading higher by 340 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading higher by 110 points.

Titan and Power Grid are among the top gainers today.

Bajaj Finserv and Bharti Airtel are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are also trading on a positive note. The BSE Mid Cap index is up 0.9%. The BSE Small Cap index is trading higher by 1%.

Sectoral indices are trading on a positive note. Stocks in the auto and oil and gas sector witness buying.

According to Chartist Brijesh Bhatia, the auto index is on the verge of a multi-year breakout.

Shares of Blue Dart and Voltamp Transformers hit their 52-week high today.

In the commodity markets, gold prices rise higher. Today, prices are up by Rs 608, trading at Rs 51,269 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading lower at Rs 56,391 per kg.

Speaking of stock markets, July 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of the Asian currency crisis. After 25 years most of us do not know what was the currency crisis.

We can only be prepared for a crisis if we know what is the crisis. Hence, it is important to know about the crisis and the lessons to be learned from it.

In news from the pharma sector, Dr. Reddy finally has good news for its investors.

Home-grown pharma major Dr. Reddy's aims to triple its reach to 1.5 bn patients by 2030 as part of its sustainability goals, according to company chairman K Satish Reddy and co-chairman and managing director G V Prasad.

In their joint address to shareholders in the company's annual report for 2021-22, they said as the pharmaceutical landscape evolves, there would be intense competition in traditional generics, the disruption brought in by new players and new business models, and demand for holistic healthcare solutions.

2022 - the year of volatility had taken Dr. Reddy's to the cleaners. The share price has seen a steep fall in the past year.

However, following the news, Dr. Reddy's share has opened in the green today.

Further in the news from the retail space, Tata Group company Titan records an increase in sales for the quarter ended April to June.

The sales in the April-June quarter were up nearly three-fold on a year-on-year basis, helped by a low base of the Covid-19 impacted quarter in the last year.

Its network expansion and campaigns continued to progress well throughout Q1FY23, which was the non-disrupted quarter in the last three financial years.

Its jewelry division, which contributes around 85% of its revenue, added 19 new stores during the quarter, taking the total count to 463.

The division had a good start to the financial year 2022-23 with robust sales on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya (AT) in May month after 2 years of Covid-19-induced lockdowns in this period.

On a low YoY base, revenues nearly tripled, clocking a growth of 207% and clocking a 3-year CAGR of 20.5% over Q1FY20.

Both walk-ins and buyers grew in line with revenues whereas ticket size marginally improved compared to Q1FY22.

Similarly, its EyeCare division reported a growth of 176% YoY, which was led by its retain chain store, Titan Eye Plus (TEP), and Trade & Distribution channels.

Further in the news from the power sector, PSU firm Power Grid is set to raise funds.

According to a release by Power Grid Corporation of India, the board of directors has decided that the company will raise Rs 110 bn via the domestic market and partly through the sanction of a rupee term loan.

Power Grid is a monopoly stock to watch out for if you're interested in companies that have little competition.

It's also a green energy stock to track as India goes on a green revolution.

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