Asian share markets are higher today tracking a strong close on US markets last week as investors shifted their focus to global economic indicators due this week.

The easing of long-running Covid curbs in Shanghai boosted the confidence.

The Nikkei advanced 2.2% while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.3%. The Hang Seng jumped 2%.

Wall Street indices closed sharply higher in US stock markets on Friday as signs of peaking inflation and consumer resiliency dented sentiment.

Ahead of a long holiday weekend, investors were boosted with optimism that the Federal Reserve will be able to tighten monetary policy without tipping the economy into recession.

The Dow Jones gained 1.8% while the Nasdaq Composite ended 3.3% higher.

The talk of a global recession is getting overheated. Central banks have been raising interest rates to try and rein in inflation but many are now wondering if the knock-on effect of this will be a recession.

Back home, Indian share markets are trading on a strong note. Benchmark indices rose today following the trend on SGX Nifty and tracking firm global cues.

Market participants are tracking shares of LIC, Sun Pharma, IRCTC, and Jubilant Foodworks as these companies will announce their Q4 results later today.

Meanwhile, Ethos made its stock market debut today. The company's Rs 4.7 bn IPO was open for subscription between 18-20 May.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 892 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading higher by 260 points.

HCL Tech and Infosys are among the top gainers today. Dr. Reddy's Lab, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is up 1.6%. The BSE Small Cap index is trading higher by 1.7%.

All sectoral indices are trading in green with stocks in the IT sector, realty sector, and consumer durables sector witnessing most of the buying.

Shares of Blue Dart Express and M&M hit their 52-week highs today while IPCA Labs and Scooters India hit their 52-week lows.

The rupee is trading at 77.52 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by 0.2% at Rs 51,005 per 10 grams. Meanwhile, silver prices are trading at Rs 62,387 per kg.

Crude oil prices edged higher to two-month highs as traders waited to see if the European Union would reach an agreement on banning Russian oil ahead of a meeting on the sixth package of sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

In news from the financial markets, foreign investors (FIIs) have dumped Indian equities worth over Rs 390 bn so far this month.

The net outflow by FIIs from equities has reached Rs 1.66 lakh crore so far in 2022.

FII has continued its selling spree throughout this year, selling Indian stocks each passing month. This has led to a broad-based selloff in the markets and caused the stock markets to fall.

FIIs have remained net sellers for the seven months to April 2022, withdrawing a massive Rs 1.65 lakh crore from equities.

To put things in perspective, the recent selling pressure has more than halved the Rs 4.4 tn the foreign investors pumped into the domestic secondary market between 2010 and 2020.

The intense and unceasing selling by foreign investors has been triggered by rising global interest rates, multi-decade high inflation in Western economies, the Russia-Ukraine crisis, and rising unattractiveness of Indian stocks because of their rich valuations.

FIIs turned net investors in the first week of April due to a correction in the markets and invested Rs 77.1 bn in equities.

However, after a short breather, FIIs again turned into net sellers. They have dumped equities worth a net Rs 391.4 bn during 2-27 May, data with depositories showed.

In addition to equities, FIIs withdrew a net amount of about Rs 60 bn from the debt market during the period under review.

The selling has not been limited to India. Apart from India, other emerging markets, including Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, and the Philippines, too have witnessed outflows in the month of May to date.

Market participants are now closely tracking the FII & DII activity.

Moving on to news from the automobile sector, Maruti Suzuki has targeted 25% growth in volumes for the ongoing financial year to surpass an output of 2 m, its highest ever in a year.

If the company secures semiconductor chips on time and achieves the target, then it will be the highest growth posted by India's largest carmaker in more than a decade.

Maruti is all set to introduce new products across price points, from its entry-level hatchback to a premium crossover and a mid-sized sport utility vehicle (SUV).

Apart from adding new models, Maruti will rely on the CNG offerings in its current portfolio to achieve incremental sales growth.

The target production volume suggests that the company is looking at an average production rate of 174,000 vehicles each month.

Moving on to news from the energy sector, Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) is embarking on increasing its petrochemical capacity.

The company's director Sanjay Khanna said that to remain competitive in the dynamic market and be future-ready, BPCL has planned major investment in petrochemical projects in the next five years.

BPCL could invest upwards of Rs 300 bn in petchem expansion. It plans to follow both the debt and equity route and raise capital.

Note that last week, the government called off the privatization process of BPCL after two of the three companies that had shown interest in acquiring the public sector undertaking (PSU) withdrew their bids.

The government, its promoter, has been looking to sell a 52.98% stake for a long time now.

BPCL's share price is currently trading up by 0.9%.