Asian stock markets are higher today as Japanese and Hong Kong shares show gains. The Nikkei 225 is up 0.5% while the Hang Seng is up 1.1%. The Shanghai Composite is trading down by 0.3%. US stocks advanced on Friday as upbeat earnings helped investors shrug off heightened trade anxieties and weaker-than-expected July jobs growth.

Back home, India share markets have opened the day on a strong note. The BSE Sensex is trading up by 223 points while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 62 points. The BSE Mid Cap index opened and BSE Small Cap index both opened the day up by 0.6%.

The rupee is currently trading at 68.79 to the US$.

All sectoral indices have opened the in green with realty stocks and automobile stocks witnessing maximum buying interest.

In the news from the finance sector. HDFC Asset Management Company, which recently concluded its public offer, has made its stock market debut today.

HDFC AMC’s Rs 28-billion initial public offer was open during July 25-27. The price band for the offer was fixed at Rs 1,095-1,100 per share.

You can read our Co-head of Research, Tanushree Banerjee’s IPO note here…The IPO was of 25,457,555 shares, including anchor portion of 6,653,265 shares. HDFC AMC operates as a joint venture between Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) and Standard Life Investments.

With buoyant capital markets and the mutual fund industry on a roll, AMCs are eager to hit the market with their IPOs.

With HDFC AMC’s IPO hitting the markets, many are expected to follow HDFC AMC. This opens up an entirely new segment for investors.

The first mover in this race was Anil Ambani promoted Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Company that came up with a Rs 15.4 billion offering in October last year.

Interestingly, UTI AMC has also announced plans to list this financial year.

The AMCs’ plan to go public follows a growing trend where banks and financial services are looking to unlock value in group businesses after the rapid rise in stock markets.