Asian shares are higher today as Japanese and Hong Kong shares show gains. The Nikkei 225 is up 0.4% while the Hang Seng is up 1.3%. The Shanghai Composite is trading up by 0.6%. US markets ended on a positive note as their last closing prices. Gains were seen on the back of healthcare stocks which rose after President Donald Trump blasted high drug prices but avoided taking aggressive measures to cut them.
Back home, India share markets opened the day marginally higher. The BSE Sensex is trading up by 60 points while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 14 points. The BSE Mid Cap index is trading down by 0.1%, while the BSE Small Cap index has opened the day up by 0.1%.
Sectoral indices have opened the day on a mixed note with realty stocks and healthcare stocks witnessing maximum buying interest. Telecom stocks and consumer durables stocks have opened the day in the red.
The rupee is trading at 67.23 to the US$.
Market participants will be tracking Hindustan Unilever share price, Bombay Dyeing share price, Blue Star share price, and KEC International share price as these companies are scheduled to report their results for the quarter ended March 2018 today.
Share markets in India will be witnessing volatility today ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections.
The final decision on the same will be known tomorrow when votes will be counted. As per the news, exit polls in Karnataka on Saturday hinted that Narendra Modi's BJP could emerge as the leading party, potentially boosting the prime minister's chances of winning a second term in general elections early next year.
In the news from the IPO space, the initial public offer (IPO) of non-banking finance company (NBFC), IndoStar Capital Finance witnessed an overall subscription of 6.7 times on Friday – the last day of its bidding process.
The portion of shares reserved for institutional investors saw a subscription of 16.1 times, while those kept aside for retail investors and high net-worth individuals (HNIs) saw a subscription of 1.3 times and 6.9 times, respectively.
