Top 15 stocks in focus today: Tata Motors, Pfizer, Wipro

Check out the companies which will be in focus during trade today based on recent and latest news developments. 

NTPC: Eastern India faced a power shortage of around 1,500 MW on Monday after one of the largest power plants in the region, NTPC’s Farakka plant, had to be shut down due to lack of water, reports a business daily.

Wipro: Wipro Ltd’s chief executive officer (CEO) Abidali Neemuchwala has set an ambitious revenue growth target of 12-14% for the fiscal year 2016-2017, reports a business daily.

Tata Motors Ltd: The Gujarat government has accelerated the process to look into the demands of workers agitating at the Tata Motors Ltd Sanand factory in a bid to resolve the ongoing labour unrest, reports a financial newspaper.

Pfizer: The Delhi High Court on Monday stayed a Government notification that had banned the manufacture and sale of Pfizer’s popular cough syrup Corex, and also directed the Centre not to take coercive steps against its retailers and distributors, reports a financial newspaper.

Persistent Systems: Persistent Systems, a leading IT company, has acquired assets of PRM Cloud, Australia based company engaged in SalesForce implementation services.

ONGC: A plan by state-run oil companies led by Oil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd (ONGC) to acquire a substantial stake in Vankor oil field in Siberia, will come up for discussion when Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan meets Rosneft Chairman Igor Sechin in New Delhi on Tuesday, reports a business daily.

Suven Life Sciences: Suven Life Sciences has been granted a patent each by China, Eurasia and Hong Kong for a drug used in the treatment of neuro-degenerative diseases.

Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals: Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals has entered into a joint venture agreement with EcoPhos SA, Belgium for setting up 2 lakh MTPA Di-calcium phosphate project at Dahej at an estimated cost of Rs 526 crore, as per reports.

Glenmark Pharma: The pharma company has received final nod from the USFDA to manufacture and market therapeutical equivalent of Endo Pharmaceutical’s Frova tablets, used to treat migraine headaches, in the American market.

ICICI Bank: ICICI Bank is looking to raise $750 million through a dollar bond issue under its medium-term note programme, according to two bankers in the know of the development.

Richa Industries: Richa Industries secured an order from Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for the construction of Pre Engineered Building (PEB) for the assembly of Masts & Composite Structures with labs & office area at BEL-NAMU in Navi Mumbai.

Mahindra Lifespace: Mahindra Lifespace informed BSE that in the matter of the pending Arbitration proceedings between the Company and Rishi Gagan Trust & Others (the Vendors) relating to acquisition of a property in South Mumbai, the Company has March 9, 2016 received an award copy passed by the Hon'ble Arbitral Tribunal in terms of the Consent Terms filed by the Company and the Vendors, thereby enabling the Company to proceed with the acquisition of the property and to subsequently take up the re-development of the Property on completion of all obligations by the Vendors.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited: The company has achieved another milestone in its After-Sales-Service business by successfully synchronising the 110 MW Unit-7 at Barauni Thermal Power Station (TPS) in Bihar following Renovation and Modernisation (R&M).

Sasken Communication Technologies: Sasken Communication Technologies has reached a settlement in an ongoing matter pertaining to the unauthorized use of Sasken’s Protocol Stack IP, by a Chinese Semiconductor vendor.

Vivimed Labs Ltd: The company has announced that April 08, 2016 has been fixed as the record date for the purpose of ascertaining the eligibility of shareholders entitled for Sub-division of One (1) Equity Share of face value of Rs.10/- each fully paid up into Five (5) equity shares of Rs. 2/- each fully paid-up 

Sensex, Nifty to open on a weak note

Asian indices are subdued with Japan's Nikkei down marginally. China's CSI300 has dropped half a percent and so has Hong Kong's Hang Seng. South Korea's Kospi and Taiwan's TWSE are trading flat.US stock indices finished mostly flat on Monday but the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to close at a new high for the year 2016. 

Central bank meets, crude movement and macro data from around the world are rolling by the market which seems to be feeling heavy at current levels. 7600 appears to be stiff resistance; little wonder that investors prefer to lighten positions around these levels. The central banks’ meetings will be closely watched. The Bank of Japan, which adopted a negative interest rate in January, will conclude a policy review and a Federal Reserve Open Market Committee two day meeting will commence today. The FOMC is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold on Wednesday. Back home, the finance ministry and Reserve Bank of India officials will also meet during March 15-20 to decide borrowing calendar for the financial year beginning from April 1.

The outlook is a weak start. Asian indices are subdued with Japan's Nikkei down marginally. China's CSI300 has dropped half a percent and so has Hong Kong's Hang Seng. South Korea's Kospi and Taiwan's TWSE are trading flat.US stock indices finished mostly flat on Monday but the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to close at a new high for the year 2016.

The Dow advanced by 15.82 points, or 0.1%, to end at 17,229.13 - a new closing high for the year. The S&P 500 index dropped 2.55 points to close at 2,019.64, after settling at a 2016 high of 2,022.19 on Friday.  Six of the 10 main sectors in the S&P 500 index ended lower. Consumer discretionary stocks were the best performers while the materials sector lost 0.7% and the energy sector declined 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite index gained 1.81 points to finish at 4,750.28. It is still significantly down from its 2016 closing high, which is 4,903.09, struck on Jan. 4.

Crude oil futures dropped by 3.4% to settle at US$37.18 per barrel, giving up half of last week’s gains, after OPEC left its estimate on global oil demand growth unchanged.

A number of other central banks, including the Bank of Japan, Bank of England and Swiss National Bank, are expected to announce their monetary policy reviews later this week.

India Finsec Limited has sold total 230,000 shares of ARYAMAN, at a price of Rs. 15.7 to Mukesh Babulal Shah in a bulk deal valued at Rs. 0.36 crore.

New India Investment Trust PLC has purchased total 234,000 shares of ACC at a price of Rs. 1,227.15 from New India Investment Company Mauritius Limited in a block deal valued at Rs. 28.7 crore.

Government’s proposal to cut corporate tax to 25 per cent over three years is likely to bring in transparency in tax collections, India Ratings and Research reportedly said.

The Gujarat government has accelerated the process to look into the demands of workers agitating at the Tata Motors Ltd Sanand factory in a bid to resolve the ongoing labour unrest, reports a financial newspaper.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley criticised reports of huge write-off by banks. Jaitley said that no public sector bank had written off a single rupee, says report.

Wipro Ltd’s chief executive officer (CEO) Abidali Neemuchwala has set an ambitious revenue growth target of 12-14% for the fiscal year 2016-2017, reports a business daily.

The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) is looking into the brand evaluation carried out by the tax and advisory firm Grant Thornton India for the Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, reports a business daily. A notice has been sent to Grant Thornton seeking clarification on Kingfisher Airlines' valuation, says the paper.

ADB president Takehiko Nakao stated that GST will integrate Indian economy and help attract FDI.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd is planning to undertake drilling of nine development wells in KG-OSN-2004/1 and GS-49-2 fields, according to reports.

Government reportedly said it may pass the benefit of this "cushion" of earning to the consumers if there is a spectacular hike in the prices.

India's wholesale prices remained in negative territory for the 16th straight month in February at -0.91% as compared to -0.90% (provisional) for the previous month and -2.17% during the corresponding month of the previous year. Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was -1.19% compared to a build up rate of -2.61% in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Pfizer plunges 7% after discontinuing Corex sale; Mcap erodes by Rs. 821 cr

With the fall in share price, the total market cap of the company fell by Rs. 821.63 cr to Rs. 8,208.97 crore at 1:48 pm.

Shares of Pfizer Ltd, the Indian arm of US pharmaceutical major Pfizer Inc, crashed 7.02% to Rs. 1,792.45 on BSE after the company today announced that it has discontinued the manufacture and sales of its codeine-based cough syrup Corex, which is one of largest selling drugs in India.

With the fall in share price, the total market cap of the company fell by Rs. 821.63 cr to Rs. 8,208.97 crore at 1:48 pm.

On March 10, 2016, the government banned nearly 300 drugs in India, which are sold illegally and Corex is one of them.

According to the company’s 2014 annual report, Corex had a market share of 41% in its respective segment with a MAT Value of Rs. 315 crore. The brand had ranked 1st among 94 competitors.

The company declined to comment on queries sent by IIFL.

“We have discontinued the manufacture and sale of Corex with immediate effect. Corex has a well-established efficacy and safety profile in India for more than 30 years and Pfizer makes every effort to maintain the highest standards of regulatory and quality compliance in the manufacturing and distribution of Corex Cough Syrup,” said the company in a regulatory filing.

Corex recorded a sale of Rs. 176 crore for the nine months period ended December 31, 2015.

The scrip opened at Rs. 1890 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 1890 and Rs. 1787 respectively. So far 110125(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 8819.48 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 2724 on 22-Sep-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 1715 on 29-Feb-2016. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 1945 and Rs. 1880 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 63.92 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 12.86 % and 23.22 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading above its 200 DMA. 

Suven Life Sciences secures 3 product patents in China, Eurasia and Hong Kong

Suven has a total of twenty granted patents from China, sixteen granted product patents from Eurasia and nineteen granted product patents from Hong Kong. 

Suven Life Sciences Ltd announces today that the grant of one product patent from China (CN103380131), one product patent from Eurasia (9 Countries) (22043) and one product patent from Hong Kong (HK 1180955) corresponding to the New Chemical Entities (NCEs) for the treatment of disorders associated with Neurodegenerative diseases and these Patents
are valid through 2032.

The granted claims of the patents include the class of selective 5-HT4 compounds and are being developed as therapeutic agents and are useful in the treatment of cognitive impairment associated with neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, Attention deficient hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Huntington’s disease, Parkinson and Schizophrenia.

With these new patents, Suven has a total of twenty granted patents from China, sixteen granted product patents from Eurasia and nineteen granted product patents from Hong Kong. These granted patents are exclusive intellectual property of Suven and are achieved through the internal discovery research efforts. Products out of these inventions may be out-licensed at various phases of clinical development like at Phase-I or Phase-II.

“We are very pleased by the grant of these patents to Suven for our pipeline of molecules in CNS arena that are being developed for cognitive disorders with high unmet medical need with huge market potential globally” says Venkat Jasti, CEO of Suven. 

Dividend delight! Around 30 companies boards to meet today to discuss dividends

Check out the latest stock which get dividend today. Aarti Industries has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on March 14, 2016, inter alia, to consider declaration of 3rd Interim Dividend, if any

Aarti Industries Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on March 14, 2016, inter alia, to consider declaration of 3rd Interim Dividend, if any.

Allcargo Logistics Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on March 14, 2016, inter alia, to consider and declare 2nd Interim Dividend for the financial year 2015-16.

Brigade Enterprises Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on March 14, 2016, inter-alia, to consider declaration of Interim Dividend, if any, for the financial year 2015-16.

Celestial Biolabs Ltd to allot 19,28,000 equity shares of Rs.10/- each (upon conversion of 19,28,000 warrants which were issued in the AGM held on November 15, 2014) on preferential basis to non promoter group.

Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on March 14, 2016, inter alia, to consider and declare Interim Dividend.

Karur Vysya Bank Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Bank will be held on March 14, 2016, to consider and declare Interim Dividend, if any, on the equity shares of the Bank for the financial year 2015-16.

KEC International Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of Board of Directors of the Company will be held on March 14, 2016, inter alia, to consider and approve payment of interim dividend on the equity share capital of the Company for the financial year ending on March 31, 2016.

Mayur Uniquoters Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on March 14, 2016, inter alia, to declare the fourth interim dividend on the equity shares of the Company for the financial year 2015-16, if any.

PI Industries Ltd has informed BSE that the Company has fixed March 23, 2016 as the Record Date for the purpose of Payment of Second Interim Dividend, subject to approval of the board in its meeting scheduled to be held on March 14, 2016.

Rama Steel Tubes Ltd has informed BSE that the Company has fixed March 15, 2016 as the record date for the purpose of ascertaining the eligibility of shareholders entitled for: 1. Sub-division of One (1) Equity Share of face value of Rs. 10 each fully paid up into Two (2) equity shares of Rs. 5/- each fully paid-up. 2. Receiving the Bonus Shares of the Company in the ratio of 4:1 (i.e. 4 bonus equity shares of Rs. 5/- each for every 1 existing equity share of Rs. 5/- each held).

Rasi Electrodesto consider issue of bonus share.

Sun TV Network Ltd has informed BSE that March 22, 2016 shall be the Record Date for the Interim Dividend if any, declared at the Board Meeting to be held on March 14, 2016. The Payment Date for the Interim Dividend if any, declared shall commence on and from March 28, 2016.

Vinati Organics Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on March 14, 2016, to consider the declaration of Interim Dividend for the financial year 2015-16.

Zensar Technologies Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on March 14, 2016, to consider and approve, inter-alia, a proposal for payment of 2nd Interim Dividend for the Financial Year 2015-16. 

SBI puts on block three loans worth Rs. 20,769 cr

SBI has invited expression of interest (EoI) from interested investors to acquire 51 per cent stake and management control of these three companies, says the financial newspaper 

In the last fortnight, State Bank of India (SBI), on behalf of itself and other consortium lenders, has put three large loans aggregating to INR 20,769 crore on the block, reports a business daily.

SBI has invited expression of interest (EoI) from interested investors to acquire 51 per cent stake and management control of these three companies, says the financial newspaper.

The companies are: a public listed EPC company (banks’ loan exposure: INR 6,897 crore); a company operating a 540 MW coal-based power project in Jharkhand (INR 2,465 crore); and a public listed 2.51 MTPA integrated steel plant in Jharkhand (INR 11,407 crore).

The move comes in the backdrop of the RBI setting a March 2017 deadline for the clean-up of bad loans in the country's banking system, reports the paper.

Credit rating agency CRISIL recently cautioned that the asset quality problems being faced by public sector banks (PSBs) will continue through most of FY17. 

The resultant impact on profitability and capitalisation of the PSBs can further dent their credit profiles over the medium term, says CRISIL.

Significant stress in the corporate loan book of PSBs is expected to result in their weak assets jumping to INR 7.1 lakh crore by March 31, 2017 (11.3 per cent of total loan book) from ~INR 4 lakh crore as on March 31, 2015 (7.2 per cent of loan book), according to CRISIL.

Sebi bars wilful defaulters from raising public funds

Report says that Sebi has also decided to bar such defaulters from setting up market intermediaries such as mutual funds. 

Sebi decided to bar wilful defaulters from raising public funds through stocks and bonds, according to reports.

Report says that Sebi has also decided to bar such defaulters from setting up market intermediaries such as mutual funds.

These defaulters would also be not allowed to take control of any other listed company, says report.

The move comes in the wake of a raging controversy over UB Group Chairman Vijay Mallya, who has exited the country

Top 18 stocks in focus today: SBI, Tata Motors, SpiceJet

SpiceJet: Kalanithi Maran, the former promoter of SpiceJet has moved the Delhi High Court, alleging that the current management was not issuing his two entities 189 million convertible warrants, reports a business daily.

SBI: In the last fortnight, State Bank of India, on behalf of itself and other consortium lenders, has put three large loans aggregating to INR 20,769 crore on the block, reports a business daily.

Tata Motors: Tata Motors Group global wholesales in February 2016, including Jaguar Land Rover, were at 99,842 nos., higher by 17%, over February 2015.

Maruti Suzuki India: Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has missed a deadline it had set for introducing the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment citing the ongoing resistance against diesel vehicles, reports a financial newspaper.

ONGC: ONGC reportedly said it will finalise "a multi- billion dollar investment plan" for the 98/2 fields of D5 Block in the KG Basin by the month-end or early April.

JSW Steel: JSW Steel’s production of crude steel in February has gone up 7% to 10.13 lakh tonnes as against 9.47 lakh tonnes in the same period a year ago.

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories: Dr. Reddy’s Lab and TR-Pharmin announced a strategic collaboration agreement involving 3 biosimilar products. These products will be registered and subsequently commercialised as part of this agreement by TR-Pharm in Turkey.

Bhushan Steel: The company has received the environment clearance for its Rs.30 billion project to set up a pellet unit with a production capacity of 7mn tonnes per annum (MTPA) in Odisha.

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise: The pharma company has completed the acquisition of the majority stake in Guwahati based Assam Hospitals Ltd.

NMDC: The company has raised the lump price by over 8%to Rs. 1,950 per tonne effective March 11, its first hike for the higher grade of the ore since July, 2014.

Future Consumer Enterprise: Future Supply Chain Solutions Ltd (FSC) has created an e-commerce vertical and is scaling up operations to cater to e-commerce biggies like Snapdeal and Pepperfry, reports a business daily.

United Breweries Holdings Ltd: United Breweries Holdings Ltd (UBHL) is facing as many as 8 winding-up petitions from 8 banks and financial institutions - including BNP Paribas and SBI - in various courts for failing to honour corporate guarantees of Rs. 7,256 crore provided to the defunct Kingfisher Airlines, reports a financial newspaper.

IDBI Bank: IDBI Bank employees have decided to go on a four-day nation-wide strike from 28th March to oppose the Government's move to dilute its stake in the public sector bank, reports a business daily.

Britannia: Britannia Industries Ltd. is three months away from taking a call on ramping up the dairy business, Managing Director Varun Berry has been quoted as saying by a business daily.

HCC: The company bagged a award Rs. 635 crore contract by NTPC to construct Head Race Tunnel (balance works) for Tapovan Vishnugad Hydro-electric Power Project on the River Dhauliganga in Chamoli District of Uttarakhan.

IOC: A whopping 51,000 tonnes of naphtha has been sold by the Indian Oil Corp (IOC) from late March to early April at rarely seen discount levels, says a Reuters report.

Karnataka Bank: The bank enters into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CNX Corporation Limited (CCL) in order to expand its storage facilities to farmers and finance against the warehouse receipts (WHR).

Reliance Power: Reliance Power Ltd on Friday moved the Delhi high court, seeking permission to continue mining coal in excess of what is permitted by the Centre, from its Moher and Moher-Amlohri blocks in Madhya Pradesh. 

NMDC increases iron ore lump prices

Report says that this is the first hike for the higher grade of the ore in over one-and-a-half years.

NMDC has raised the lump price by a little over 8% to Rs 1,950 per tonne effective March 11, according to reports.

Report says that this is the first hike for the higher grade of the ore in over one-and-a-half years.

The firm also raised prices for iron ore fines by 10 percent to Rs 1,710 per tonne for this month. 

NMDC Ltd ended at Rs. 92.9, down by Rs. 0.25 or 0.27% from its previous closing of Rs. 93.15 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 92 and touched a high and low of Rs. 94.15 and Rs. 91 respectively. A total of 2158008(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 36832.06 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 1 touched a 52 week high of Rs. 139.4 on 13-Apr-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 75.2 on 12-Feb-2016. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 99 and Rs. 90.75 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 80 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 17.56 % and 2.43 % respectively.

The stock traded below its 200 DMA.

Sensex, Nifty to open on a positive note

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said that the Government was hopeful of passing the Goods & Services Tax (GST) bill in the second half of the budget session, which will resume on April 20. Rupee, oil and FII numbers will remain in focus. 

Though indices were unable to find direction for most part of last week, Friday’s rally is set to continue today. Market-participants will keenly await February CPI and WPI data scheduled today. Street expects inflation to cool down in February, giving RBI room to cut rates further. Given the upbeat mood, market may choose to ignore the Jan IIP data released after market close on Friday. Quashing the expectation of marginal industrial recovery, IIP decelerated for the third straight month in January, hurt by de-growth of manufacturing sector, which was impacted to an extent by the Chennai floods.

The outlook is a positive start. Investors may prefer to hold on to their portfolio even as Nifty approaches the resistance zone of 7600. Nearly 30 companies will announce interim dividends today. Asian markets are upbeat. Rupee, oil and FII numbers will remain in focus.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said that the Government was hopeful of passing the Goods & Services Tax (GST) bill in the second half of the budget session, which will resume on April 20.  The GST bill, which has received the approval of the Lok Sabha, is stuck in the Rajya Sabha. The GST bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in the monsoon session of parliament last year but it could not passed due to stiff opposition.

Last week, the Parliament approved the Aadhaar Bill, which provides statutory support to the Unique Identification Number (UIN), and will help in the management of subsidies and other government benefits. The Real Estate bill has also been approved by the Rajya Sabha.

Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan reportedly said the economy is recovering, but the process of recovery is volatile. The RBI chief described index of industrial production (IIP) numbers as "certainly somewhat disappointing".

A Parliamentary panel is expected to meet today to discuss the controversial land acquisition bill of 2015, reports a financial newspaper.

DBS Group Holdings is planning to acquire Royal Bank of Scotland Group's Indian onshore operations for about Rs 1,000 crore, says report.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has missed a deadline it had set for introducing the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment citing the ongoing resistance against diesel vehicles, reports a financial newspaper.

In the last fortnight, State Bank of India (SBI), on behalf of itself and other consortium lenders, has put three large loans aggregating to INR 20,769 crore on the block, reports a business daily.

Reliance Power Ltd on Friday moved the Delhi high court, seeking permission to continue mining coal in excess of what is permitted by the Centre, from its Moher and Moher-Amlohri blocks in Madhya Pradesh.

India has been ranked 22nd out of 60 counties in the Best Countries Report 2015. The countries were ranked based on the data from a proprietary perception survey developed by U.S. News, BAV Consulting and the Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania.

Britannia Industries Ltd. is three months away from taking a call on ramping up the dairy business, Managing Director Varun Berry has been quoted as saying by a business daily. -

Chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian reportedly said that India cannot have a unique model which is export-led and not just uniquely focused on manufacturing if it were to grow at 8 per cent to 10 per cent.

India FINSEC Limited has sold total 230,000 shares of ARYAMAN, at a price of Rs. 15.7 to Mukesh Babulal Shah in a bulk deal valued at Rs. 0.36 crore.

Shernaz Firoze Vakil has purchased total 257,000 shares of DAICHI at a price of Rs. 335 from Chemicals and Ferro Alloys Private Limited in a block deal valued at Rs. 8.6 crore.