Asian share markets rose today after a slowdown in US inflation boosted hopes that the Federal Reserve will slow down its pace of interest rate hikes.

The annual US consumer price index eased to 8.5% in July from a 40-year high of 9.1% the previous month, the Labour Department reported, while the monthly rate was unchanged.

The Hang Seng was up by 1.3%. The Shanghai Composite is trading higher by 0.4%.

Wall Street indices surged on Wednesday, putting the Nasdaq more than 20% above its June lows after US inflation slowed more than expected in July and raised hopes the Federal Reserve will become less aggressive on interest rate hikes.

The Dow Jones was up by 1.6% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged by 2.9%

Back home, Indian share markets are trading on a strong 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 570 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading up by 151 points.

Tech Mahindra and Axis Bank are among the top gainers today.

NTPC and Bharti Airtel are among the top losers today.

EKI Energy's share price is falling today. Shares of the company plunged over 15% after the Lok Sabha passed the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill to establish the carbon credit market in India.

Broader markets are trading on a positive note. The BSE Mid Cap index is up by 0.9% while the BSE Small Cap index is trading lower by 0.5%.

Sectoral indices are trading on a positive note, stocks in the IT and Bank sectors witness most of the buying.

SKF India and Eicher Motors hit their 52-week highs today.

In the commodity markets, gold prices fall. Gold prices are trading lower by Rs 206. Currently, gold prices are trading at Rs 52,035 per 10 grams.

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

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading lower at Rs 58,515 per kg. Silver prices have fallen a lot in recent days.

The rupee is trading at 79.3 against the US dollar.

In news from the auto sector, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has sold a stake in Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M).

On Wednesday, it was made public that LIC sold 2% of its shareholding in automaker Mahindra & Mahindra for about Rs 22.2 bn.

The shares were sold through open market transactions from 21 December 2020, to 8 August 2022.

After the sale, the LIC holding in the passenger cars and utility vehicles company decreased from 8.4% to 6.4%.

Looks like LIC is booking profits as Mahindra and Mahindra's share price is rising.

Further, in news from the sugar sector, Simbhaoli Sugars is dragged to bankruptcy.

State Bank of India (SBI) has dragged Simbhaoli Sugars to bankruptcy over a Rs 3,950 m loan, according to people briefed on the matter.

The company markets sugar under the Trust brand and has a pan-India distribution set up. It also exports its products to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa.

SBI has claimed at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) that it tried to restructure Simbhaoli Sugars loans in 2015 but the company was still unable to service the debt.

Simbhaoli Sugars has been a defaulter since 1 November 2018, according to SBI. NCLT has not heard the case and it has not admitted the company for bankruptcy proceedings so far.

The listed company has manufacturing units at Simbhaoli, a village in Uttar Pradesh's Hapur district.

The company also has an ethanol manufacturing business. The company established its first sugar mill in 1933. The affairs of the company are helmed by Gursimran Kaur Mann. It has a turnover of around Rs 20 bn.

Simbhaoli Sugars had informed stock exchanges on Friday that the State Bank of India had filed a case at NCLT under the insolvency code. It had not provided details of the case.

Further, in news from the FMCG sector, Tata Consumer Products posted its Q1 results.

On Wednesday, Tata Consumer Products reported a 38% jump in consolidated profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 2,550 m for the first quarter of the financial year 2022-23, up from Rs 1,852 m in the year-ago period.

On a sequential basis, the profit increased 17.5% from Rs 2,175 m in the January-March period.

The Tata Group company consolidated revenue rose 10.6% to Rs 33.3 bn from Rs 30.1 bn in the same period of the previous year. Sequentially, revenue was up 4.8%.

The year-on-year growth was driven by an increase in revenue of its India tea business, domestic foods business, growth in subsidiaries, and international coffee business.

Speaking of Tata Consumer, note that the company has become the most globalized company in the Tata Group with 70% of its revenues coming from international operations.

More people around the world drink Tata Tea than use Tata vehicles, Tata steel, or even TCS software!

Here's a look at how the company has performed on the stock market over the years.

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