Asian stock markets are trading on a cautious note today as investors awaited a key read on US inflation this week for guidance on monetary policy.
The Hang Seng is trading down by 0.3% while the Nikkei is trading up by 0.5%. The Shanghai Composite reversed early losses and is presently trading up by 0.2%.
In US stock markets, Wall Street indices ended mixed on Friday, weighed down by technology and consumer discretionary shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite closed down by 0.5%.
Back home, Indian share markets have opened on a positive note, following the trend on SGX Nifty.
Market participants are tracking shares of Ramco Cements, India Cements, Grasim Industries, Mahanagar Gas and Barbeque Nation Hospitality as these companies will announce their March quarter results today.
The BSE Sensex is trading up by 265 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading higher by 66 points.
SBI is among the top gainers today. Titan, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.
The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index have opened up by 0.7% and 0.9%, respectively.
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Barring metal stocks, all sectoral indices are trading in green with stocks in the power sector, healthcare sector and banking sector witnessing most of the buying interest.
Shares of Natco Pharma and Adani Transmission hit their 52-week highs today.
The rupee is trading at 72.83 against the US$.
Gold prices are trading up by 0.2% at Rs 48,500 per 10 grams. Meanwhile, silver prices are trading up by 0.5% at Rs 71,431 per kg.
Gold edged up today, hovering near their highest in more than four months as a weaker dollar and pullback in US Treasury yields supported the safe-haven metal.
Gold saving funds and gold ETFs saw net inflows of Rs 8.6 bn in April amid uncertain economic environment in the wake of the second Covid wave.
The bifurcations were 1.8 bn in gold saving funds and 6.8 bn in gold ETFs in April.
This comes following net inflow of over Rs 32 bn in gold funds in the entire 2020-21, while the same for gold ETFs was more than Rs 69 bn.
Speaking of bullion, in one of his videos for Vijay Bhambwani talks about why gold and silver prices are rising and why you should be bullish on them.
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In news from the pharma sector, Dr Reddy's Lab is among the top buzzing stocks today.
A company's top official has said that Dr Reddy's is developing new treatment options for Covid-19.
The drug major is working on the development of new treatment options for Covid-19 patients which it aims to launch over the next few months.
Over the past few weeks, Dr Reddy's Lab has been ramping up supply of multiple medicines including Remdesivir to meet the surge in demand.
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The company is also in discussion with Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) for Sputnik light as well as additional engagement for the future of India.
The company's CEO Erez Israeli said they have the rights for the first 250 m of doses for India which translates to 125 m patients.
Note that Dr Reddy's Lab has already launched Sputnik V vaccine while partnering with various organisations, including the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Dr Reddy's Lab share price has opened the day up by 0.6%.
Speaking of Dr Reddy's Lab, have a look at the chart below to see how the stock has performed over the past one year:
Dr Reddy's shares have underperformed the benchmark BSE Sensex by rising 35% as compared to 63% gains in Sensex.
With the company ramping up vaccine supply and developing new treatment options, it would be interesting to see how the stock performs in the coming months.
Moving on to news from the finance sector, non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) are slowing fresh disbursements and even halting them for unsecured loans.
From an average default rate in collection efficiency at 2-3% in pre-Covid times, NBFCs are now seeing 6-8% of borrowers missing their payment schedules during the second wave of the pandemic.
IIFL Finance has halted fresh disbursements for unsecured loans for micro-businesses & personal loans.
The company has also tightened scrutiny and disbursements for secured loans like loan against property, housing loan and gold loan.
Meanwhile, Cholamandalam Investment & Finance executive VP & CFO Arulselvan D said:
Shriram City Union's MD & CEO Y S Chakravarti said that while it is too early to talk about the company's performance in Q1FY22, April was a steady month in terms of both disbursements and collections.
He added that localized lockdowns are likely to affect business.
Note that NBFCs have been affected with a drop in instalment collections due to the Covid-induced lockdowns across the country.
How this pans out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, stay tuned for more updates from this space.
And to know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.
For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!
Read the latest Market Commentary
What else is happening in the markets today? Dig in...
ADANI GREEN ENERGY share price has hit a 52-week high. It is presently trading at Rs 1,365. BSE 500 Index is up by 0.1% at 20,684. Within the BSE 500, ADANI GREEN ENERGY (up 4.2%) and NATCO PHARMA (up 10.6%) are among the top gainers, while top losers are HIMACHAL FUTURISTIC and IRCON INTERNATIONAL.
May 24, 2021 09:48 AMLAURUS LABS share price is trading up by 5% and its current market price is Rs 515. The BSE HEALTHCARE is up by 1.1%. The top gainers in the BSE HEALTHCARE Index are LAURUS LABS (up 5.0%) and NATCO PHARMA (up 11.0%). The top losers are BIOCON and APOLLO HOSPITALS (down 0.1%).
May 24, 2021 09:34 AMPIDILITE INDUSTRIES share price has hit an all time high at Rs 2,007 (up 1.4%). The BSE FMCG Index is down by 0.1%. Among the top gainers in the BSE FMCG Index today are PIDILITE INDUSTRIES (up 1.4%) and NESTLE (up 0.2%). The top losers include P&G HYGIENE (down 0.1%) and COLGATE (down 0.3%).
May 24, 2021 09:34 AMADANI TRANSMISSION share price has hit an all time high at Rs 1,525 (up 3.9%). The BSE POWER Index is up by 1.3%. Among the top gainers in the BSE POWER Index today are ADANI TRANSMISSION (up 3.9%) and THERMAX (up 1.9%). The top losers include SIEMENS (down 0.3%) and BHEL (down 0.9%).
May 24, 2021 09:26 AMCONTAINER CORPORATION share price is trading down by 5% and its current market price is Rs 577. The BSE 500 is up by 0.5%. The top gainers in the BSE 500 Index are NATCO PHARMA (up 11.2%) and GSK CONSUMER (up 5.1%). The top losers is CONTAINER CORPORATION (down 5.1%).
May 24, 2021 SGX NiftyTrends on SGX Nifty indicate a weak opening for Indian stock markets.
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