Asian stock markets are lower today as Chinese and Hong Kong shares fall. The Shanghai composite is off 0.47% while the Hang Seng is down 0.19%. The Nikkei 225 is trading up by 0.43%. US equities finished mostly higher on Monday as bank stocks climbed.

Meanwhile, Indian share markets have opened the day on a flat note. BSE Sensex is trading higher by 49 points and NSE Nifty is trading higher by 24 points. Meanwhile, S&P BSE Mid Cap and S&P BSE Small Cap are trading up by 0.3% and 0.5% respectively. Gains are largely seen in energy stocks, metal stocks and realty stocks.

The rupee is trading at 64.75 against the US$.

In news from IPO space, leading cable TV and broadband services provider GTPL Hathway, which has concluded a Rs 4.85 billion initial public offer (IPO), will make a debut on stock exchanges today.

The IPO was subscribed 1.53 times during the offer period from June 21-23. The IPO comprised fresh issue of shares worth Rs 2.4 billion and an offer for sale of up to 14.4 million shares, with a price band of Rs 167-170 a share.

Proceeds from the IPO will be utilised towards repayment of loan and other general corporate purposes.

In news from pharma sector, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has entered into a strategic long-term manufacturing agreement with Samsung BioLogics for Tildrakizumab.

The agreement was entered into by Sun Pharma’s wholly-owned subsidiary and Samsung BioLogics. According to the agreement, Sun Pharma has appointed Samsung BioLogics to manufacture Tildrakizumab, an investigational IL-23p19 inhibitor being evaluated for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

Filings for this novel investigational biologic has been accepted for review by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). As per the reports, the approximate value of the contract will be US$55.5 million.