Indian share markets plunge at open. The BSE Sensex is down 593 points, while the Nifty is trading lower by 197 points

Asian share markets are lower today after Wall Street indices plunged on anxiety over higher interest rates.

The Nikkei plunged 1.9% while the Hang Seng fell 2.7%. The Shanghai Composite tanked over 2%.

In US stock markets, Wall Street indices tumbled more than 2.5% on Friday, ensuring the three main benchmarks ended in negative territory for the week, as surprise earnings news and increased certainty around aggressive near-term interest rate rises took its toll on investors.

The Dow Jones tanked 2.8% while the Nasdaq dropped 2.6%.

Back home, Indian share markets are trading deep in the red. Benchmark indices staged a gap-down opening today amid weak global sentiment and concerns around steeper rate hikes by the US Fed.

Market participants are tracking shares of Century Textiles, Tata Investment Corp, Mahindra CIE Auto and GMDC as these companies will announce their March quarter results today.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 593 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 197 points.

ICICI Bank is among the top gainers today. Tata Steel and HUL, on the other hand, are among thetop losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index is down 1.6% while the BSE Small Cap index is trading lower by 1.5%.

All sectoral indices are trading in red with stocks in the metal sector, telecom sector and FMCG sector witnessing most of the selling.

Shares of Vinati Organics and Adani Power hit their 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 76.66 against theUS$.

Crude oil prices extended losses amid persistent worries that prolonged lockdowns in Shanghai and potential US rate hikes would dent global economic growth and fuel demand.

In news from the commodity space, gold prices are trading down by 0.4% at ₹ 52,065 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile,silver pricesfell 1.2% and are trading at ₹ 65,740 per kg.

Gold edged lower as an elevated US dollar continued to pressure demand for greenback-priced bullion.

Last week, gold prices fell to their lowest since 7 April and marked a weekly decline as signs of faster policy tightening by the US Federal Reserve lifted Treasury yields and the dollar.

With expectations for a half-percentage point rate hike at the Federal Reserve's May meeting now locked in, traders on Friday piled into bets that the central bank will go even bigger in subsequent months.

Speaking of gold, have a look at the chart below to see how gold has inched up ever since the Russia invaded Ukraine.

In news from the automobile sector, Maruti Suzuki is among the top buzzing stocks today.

According to a senior official, Maruti Suzuki will keep consolidating its existing product line-up, including hatchbacks, while bolstering presence in the fast growing SUV segment to power its way back to 50% market share in the domestic passenger vehicle market.

In an interaction, Maruti’s senior executive director Shashank Srivastava noted that the company will pull out all thew stops to gain back the lost market share.

The country's largest carmaker aims to bring in multiple SUV products with focus on new technologies like hybrid powertrains in order to enhance fuel efficiency, making them comparable or better than diesel-powered models that are currently being sold in the market, especially by its Korean rivals.

With no intention of making a comeback in the diesel segment, Maruti is also focusing on increasing its play in the CNG segment to bring in additional volumes.

On EVs, Srivastava said that transition from hybrid technology, which features both internal combustion engine and battery, to pure battery electric vehicles could be a better option for India which currently lacked charging infrastructure.

Although a late entrant, Maruti has plans to launch multiple EVs with the first one expected to hit the market in 2025.

We will keep you updated on the latest developments from this space. Stay tuned.

Moving on to news from the metal sector, Hindustan Zinc is looking to acquire mining assets overseas in its bid to boost total annual production up to 2.5 m tonnes.

This development comes even as the company for the first time managed to produce more than a m tonnes of mined metal in fiscal 2022.

The largest integrated producer of zinc, lead and silver in India is already exploring locations in Africa, according to chief executive Arun Misra.

The company is looking to acquire between 0.5-1 m tonnes per annum of mining assets overseas, which would also help it hedge against having its resources concentrated in India.

The company is also looking to acquire new mining blocks in India to increase local production to up to 1.5 m tonnes a year. The government of Rajasthan was preparing to auction new blocks of zinc and lead later this year, which Hindustan Zinc will bid for.

Apart from this, the Vedanta group company is also looking to manufacture downstream alloys of zinc which are presently imported into the country, which will not only help India cut its dependence on exports but also aid its bottom line.

Hindustan Zinc is setting up a 30,000-tonnes per annum plant to manufacture zinc alloys which is expected to be commissioned by the fourth quarter of this year.

Hindustan Zinc share price is currently trading down by 5%.

(This article is syndicated from Equitymaster.com)

Download the Mint app and read premium stories

Log in to our website to save your bookmarks. It'll just take a moment.

You are just one step away from creating your watchlist!

Oops! Looks like you have exceeded the limit to bookmark the image. Remove some to bookmark this image.

Your session has expired, please login again.

You are now subscribed to our newsletters. In case you can’t find any email from our side, please check the spam folder.

This is a subscriber only feature Subscribe Now to get daily updates on WhatsApp