Dr Reddy's at new high, launches headache drug Sumatriptan

Shares of  Dr Reddy’s Labs hit a record high at Rs 2823, up around 2 percent in early trade on Wednesday. Investors are excited about the company as it launched Sumatriptan injection USP in the US market. 

“It is a therapeutic equivalent generic version of Imitrex Statdose Pen (sumatriptan succinate) and was launched in the US market on February 25 following approval by the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA),” it said in a statement. 
Sumatriptan is used to treat symptoms of migraine headaches (severe, throbbing headaches that sometimes are accompanied by nausea and sensitivity to sound and light). The injection is an autoinjector system for subcutaneous use. 

Macquarie estimates USD 1.1 billion of sales from the US in FY15. It has upgraded the drug major's target price to Rs 3,325, driven by much higher US sales. The brokerage has also hiked its FY15e earnings per share (EPS) increased to Rs 160 versus Rs 156.

 At 09:52 hrs, the stock was quoting at Rs 2,803.00, up Rs 29.10, or 1.05 percent on the BSE.

National Stock Exchange launches Volatility Index futures

To help investors hedge near-term volatility risks in their equity portfolio, the National Stock Exchange today launched its futures contracts on India VIX (volatility index) called 'NVIX'.

India VIX is a volatility index based on the index options prices of Nifty.

"Volatility is a different risk class. It has a tremendous potential as every one has to deal with volatility. Anyone who has a portfolio, one who needs to hedge the portfolio for volatility...It could be for institutional or high networth individuals (HNI). It is a broad base usage of this product," NSE MD & CEO Chitra Ramkrishna said after the launch.

Uncertainty is for everyone. This product will help in hedging uncertainty. We expect very good broad-based participation in this product, Ramkrishna added.

NSE is aiming to tap into domestic institutional investor demand for equity futures and options.

The NSE, which constructed India VIX, started disseminating India VIX index in 2009.

India VIX indicates the investor's perception of the market's volatility in the near term. The index depicts expected market volatility over the next 30 calendar days.

A high India VIX value would suggest that the market expects significant increase in volatility, while a low value indicates the reverse. India VIX and Nifty have a negative correlation.

Bonds gain as crude oil prices ease

The benchmark 10-year bond yield 2 basis points lower at 8.85 per cent. Gains in Treasury prices and lower crude oil prices helping bonds, dealers said. 

US Treasuries' prices rose on Tuesday as traders focused on weakening US consumer confidence and ignored stronger-than-expected data showing that US home prices last year climbed the most since 2005. 

Oil fell on Tuesday, pressured by further signs of a Chinese economic slowdown and data that showed a build in US crude stockpiles for the second straight week. 

SEBI proposes new norms for listed companies divesting stake in units

In order to strengthen corporate governance and curb misdoings at the management level, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) proposed new norms that will make mandatory for listed companies to seek approval of shareholders to divest shares in subsidiaries that bring in more than one-fifth of annual consolidated income. At present, divestment in major subsidiaries does not require the approval of shareholders. The market regulator is of the view that company’s special resolution should be moved to get shareholders' nod and its new set of corporate governance norms for listed companies would come into effect from October. SEBI has proposed that all listed companies should have a policy to determine material subsidiaries and they should be disclosed to the stock exchanges. The market regulator would also proposed that a subsidiary shall be considered ‘material’ if the investment of the company in the unit exceeds 20 percent of its consolidated net worth as per the audited balance sheet of the previous financial year. Furthermore, the classification would also be applicable if the subsidiary generated 20 percent of the consolidated income of the company during the previous financial year. SEBI also sought suggestions on the matter from various stakeholders and market advisory committees. SEBI was suggested that major subsidiaries should be defined and should include Indian, foreign and step-down units. Besides, it was also suggested that certain minimum amount of information about proposed disinvestment in subsidiaries such as financial details for the past three years should be disclosed in the notice for the meeting to seek shareholder approval for the resolution.

Sanofi India Q4 net surges two-fold at Rs 93 cr

Drug firm  Sanofi India  posted over two-fold increase in its net profit at Rs 92.7 crore for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2013 on account of robust sales in export markets. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 44.8 crore during the same period of previous fiscal, Sanofi India said in a filing to the BSE. Net sales of the company rose to Rs 481.1 crore for the fourth quarter, as compared to Rs 400.7 crore during the same period of previous fiscal. The company follows a January-December financial year. For the year ended December 31, 2013, the company posted a net profit of Rs 265.2 crore, compared to Rs 176.7 crore in 2012. "Significantly better export performance during the quarter and year ended December 31, 2013 has resulted in improvement in profitability of the company," the company said. The company's board has recommended final dividend of Rs 35 per equity share of Rs 10 for the year ended December 31, 2013.