Live Stock Market Updates – Sensex, Nifty trades flat; pharma, IT drag

Some buying activity is seen in realty, banking, utilities, metal and power sectors, while pharma, IT and teck sectors are showing weakness on BSE. Out of 1,776 stocks traded on the NSE, 623 declined, 716 advanced and 392 remained unchanged today. 

At 9:38 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 24,918 up 51 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 7,630 up 15 points.

The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading up 0.17% at 10,339, whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading up 0.23% at 10,352.

Axis Bank, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, ITC, Maruti Suzuki and SBI are among the gainers, whereas Sun Pharmaceuticals, Lupin, HDFC, Wipro, Dr.Reddy's and Infosys are losing sheen on BSE.

Some buying activity is seen in realty, banking, utilities, metal and power sectors, while pharma, IT and teck sectors are showing weakness on BSE.

The INDIA VIX is up 0.44% at 17.5625. Out of 1,776 stocks traded on the NSE, 623 declined, 716 advanced and 392 remained unchanged today.

A total of 13 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trades today, while 33 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

The Indian rupee opened higher by 8 paise at 66.50/$ on Tuesday as against the previous close of 66.58/$. On Monday, rupee regained lost ground against the greenback, helped by persistent foreign inflows in capital markets, healthy foreign exchange reserves and hopes of a rate cut by the RBI during the monetary policy review next week. 

Delhi HC to hear drug ban case today; pharma stocks under pressure

The Delhi High Court will today hear the pleas of 30 pharma companies challenging the ban imposed by the Health Ministry on various fixed dose combinations (FDCs). Last week on March 21, the Delhi High Court has adjourned the hearing till today, March 28.

Currently, the pharma stocks are trading lower at BSE ahead of the hearing.

The Health Ministry, via a gazette notification on March 10 banned 344 fixed dose combinations (FDCs) drugs.

The BSE Healthcare index is currently trading at 15,289.49 points, down by 159.78 points or 1.03%. The index opened higher at 15,488.95 points as against its previous close of 15,449.27 points. It hit a high and a low of 15,492.89 points and 15,279.85 points respectively.

The sectoral breadth is negative with 45 stocks declined, 17 stocks advanced and one stock unchanged.

GlaxoSmithKilne Pharma is currently trading at Rs. 3,644 (-1.08%), Pfizer at Rs. 1,696.70 (-Rs. 0.92%), Wockhardt at Rs. 943.60 (-1.37%), Piramal Enterprises at Rs. 97.20 (up 0.27%), Abbott India at Rs. 4,730.45 (-0.57%), Coral Lab at Rs. 460 (-1.35%), FDC Ltd at Rs. 177.50 (-1.42%) and Alkem Lab at Rs. 1,365.25 (0.63%).

Sensex slips over 100 points; Metal, Telecom drag

At 11:03 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 25,202 down 136 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 7,685 down 32 points.

The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading down 0.36% at 10,487, whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading down 0.44% at 10,455.

Infosys, Adani Ports, GAIL, TCS, ONGC, ITC, NTPC and Maruti Suzuki are among the gainers, whereas Sun Pharmaceuticals, Axis Bank, HDFC, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and ICICI Bank are losing sheen on BSE.

Some buying activity is seen in IT, consumer durables, teck and utilities sectors, while metal, realty, pharma, banking and auto sectors are showing weakness on BSE.

The INDIA VIX is up 7.44% at 17.5625. Out of 1,802 stocks traded on the NSE, 906 declined, 564 advanced and 322 remained unchanged today.

A total of nine stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trades today, while 17 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

The Indian rupee opened down by 27 paise at 66.90/$ on Monday as against the previous close of 66.63/$. On Wednesday, the rupee extended the weakness, impacted by month end dollar demand for US dollar from the importers.

IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company Ltd stock was higher by 5% at Rs. 47. A joint venture of IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company Ltd and Unitech Power Transmission Ltd has received LoA worth Rs 153.99 crore in Gujarat from Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL).

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories and XenoPort, Inc.announced today that they have entered into a license agreement pursuant to which Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories will be granted exclusive U.S. rights for the development and commercialization of XenoPort’s clinical-stage oral new chemical entity, XP23829.   Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 3056.55, up by Rs. 9.3 or 0.31% from its previous closing of Rs. 3047.25 on the BSE.

PVR has announced the launch of the magnum opus of the multiplex industry PVR 'Superplex' at Logic City centre. The stock is currently trading at Rs. 710.1, down by Rs. 3.55 or 0.5% from its previous closing of Rs. 713.65 on the BSE.

Vedanta Ltd stock was lower by 4% at Rs. 92. Vedanta Resources Chairman Anil Agarwal reportedly said the consumption of the metal will rise to 20 million tonnes (mt) from the present 2 mt.

Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd stock was  higher by 4% at Rs. 58. The Securities Issuance Committee-1 of Board of Directors met on March 24, 2016 and on receipt of balance 75% amount (Rs. 60 per Warrant) allotted 1,41,00,000 Ordinary Equity Shares of Rs. 2 each as at a premium of Rs. 78 each in conversion of 1,41,00,000 Equity Warrants of Rs. 80 each to Promoter Group Entity i.e. JAF Products Private Limited on a Preferential basis.

J.Kumar Infraprojects soared 5.1% to Rs.291.50 on BSE. The company experienced a spurt in volumes by more than 14.64 times.

Reliance Communications (RCom) dropped marginally to Rs. 51.65 after the opening bell on Monday. RCom has extended the exclusivity period with Maxis Communications Berhad (MCB) and Sindya Securities and Investments Private Limited, the shareholders of Aircel Limited by 60 days to May 22, 2016, to consider the potential combination of the Indian wireless business of RCOM and Aircel and mutually derive the expected substantial benefits of in-country consolidation, including opex and capex synergies and revenue enhancement.

Shares of Indo Rama Synthetics (India) were trading higher 4.9% at Rs. 30.95 on BSE today. Around 34.9 lakh shares were traded in a multiple block at Rs. 29.75 on the BSE.

NALCO was down by 2% at Rs. 37. The company had been allotted Utkal-D & E coal blocks, near the company's Captive Power Plant in Angul district of Odisha, as per a report.

PNC Infratech Ltd stock was higher by 6% at Rs. 516.PNC Raebareli Highways Pvt Ltd has commissioned the two-laning project of Raebareli-Jaunpur section of NH-231 more than 3 months.

MRPL Ltd stock was lower by 3% at Rs. 61. The company will shut a crude unit that can process 180,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) for about a week from April 1 for maintenance, according to reports.

Natco Pharma Ltd stock was lower by 8% at Rs. 426.Natco Pharma has updated that an inspection was conducted by the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) in two of its manufacturing facilities recently the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) manufacturing facility at Manali, near Chennai, and the Pharmaceutical Formulations facility at Kothur, near Hyderabad, during early February and March, 2016, respectively.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA (Glenmark) has been granted final approval by the United States Food & Drug Administration {U.S. FDA) for Drospirenone and Et hinyl Estradiol Tablets USP, 3 mg/0.03 mg, the generic version of Yasmin Tablets of Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. { Bayer) and for Levonorgestrel Tablet, 1.5 mg, the generic version of Plan B One-Step Tablet of Teva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R&D, Inc., for over-the-counter ( OTC) use as recommended in the submitted labeling. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 829, up by Rs. 6.9 or 0.84% from its previous closing of Rs. 822.1 on the BSE.

Nifty slips below 7700

At 9:55 PM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 25,274 down 64 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 7,699 down 17 points.

The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading down 0.35% at 10,487, whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading down 0.26% at 10,474.

Infosys, Adani Ports, GAIL, TCS, ONGC, ITC, NTPC and Maruti Suzuki are among the gainers, whereas Sun Pharmaceuticals, Axis Bank, HDFC, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and ICICI Bank are losing sheen on BSE.

Some buying activity is seen in IT, consumer durables, teck and utilities sectors, while metal, realty, pharma, banking and auto sectors are showing weakness on BSE.

The INDIA VIX is up 7.58% at 17.5850. Out of 1,783 stocks traded on the NSE, 658 declined, 716 advanced and 409 remained unchanged today.

A total of eight stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trades today, while 11 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

The Indian rupee opened down by 27 paise at 66.90/$ on Monday as against the previous close of 66.63/$. On Wednesday, the rupee extended the weakness, impacted by month end dollar demand for US dollar from the importers. 

Rate sensitives would remain in focus in anticipation of what the RBI may do next week. Later in the week, auto numbers would add to the swing on auto-related counters. Pharmaceutical companies will be eyed on Monday as the Delhi High Court stayed the ban on 344 fixed-dose drug combinations till March 28.

Gujarat has ranked second in terms of share in total outstanding investments attracted by manufacturing sector in India followed by Karnataka (11 per cent), Jharkhand (nine per cent) and Chhattisgarh (seven per cent)noted the study titled ‘Impact analysis of delay in investment implementation in manufacturing,’ conducted by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

The 9th edition of Defexpo India, a biennial exhibition on Land, Naval and Internal Homeland Security Systems is being organized by Defence Exhibition Organisation of Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence from 28-31 March 2016 at Naqueri Quitol, Quepem Taluka, South Goa, Goa. The exhibition will be inaugurated by Raksha Mantri, Manohar Parrikar.

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and All India Bullion Jewellers & Swarnkar Federation (AIBJSF) said on Sunday that they will not withdraw their strike till the Centre withdraws the proposed 1 per cent excise duty on non-silver jewellery.

Kotak Mahindra Bank: RBI approves FII Limit of 55%

It may be noted that the current limit for Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/ sub-accounts of FIIs, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) and Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs) approved by the Board of Directors remains at 40% 

Kotak Mahindra Bank, in an official statement, has said that the Reserve Bank of India, vide its letter dated March 22, 2016 has intimated that pursuant to the approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), they are taking the foreign investment limit in Kotak Mahindra Bank to 55% on their record.

"It may be noted that the current limit for Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/ sub-accounts of FIIs, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) and Qualified Foreign Investors (QFIs) approved by the Board of Directors remains at 40%", the announcement added. 

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 672.35, up by Rs. 8.3 or 1.25% from its previous closing of Rs. 664.05 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 664.05 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 672.6 and Rs. 661.45 respectively. So far 221888(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 121778.91 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 5 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 744.45 on 21-Jul-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 586.5 on 29-Feb-2016. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 669 and Rs. 635.5 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 33.74 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 39.13 % and 27.14 % respectively. The stock is currently trading below its 200 DMA.

Monsanto India zooms 12%

The board has approved Resignation of C. Ravishankar as Director from the Board of Directors of the Company w.e.f. March 22, 2016. 

Monsanto India Ltd stock was higher by 12% at Rs. 1805.  The Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on March 22, 2016, has taken the following decisions:

The board has approved Resignation of C. Ravishankar as Director from the Board of Directors of the Company w.e.f. March 22, 2016 and appointment of Piyush Nagar as an Additional Director of the Company w.e.f. March 23, 2016.

The board also approved Resignation of  Abdul Alim Sayed, Chief Financial Officer w.e.f. March 31, 2016.

Monsanto India Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 1805, up by Rs. 191.35 or 11.86% from its previous closing of Rs. 1613.65 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 1600 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 1823.4 and Rs. 1600 respectively. So far 47892(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 2785.6 crore.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 3376.55 on 24-Jul-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 1526.15 on 04-Mar-2016. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 1705 and Rs. 1604.9 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 72.14 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 7.34 % and 20.52 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading above its 200 DMA.

Ashok Leyland partners Lockheed Martin for army combat vehicles

The base platforms of Lockheed combat vehicles will be used to develop light specialist and light armoured multipurpose vehicles for the Indian Army. 

Ashok Leyland Defence Systems Ltd (ALDS) announced on Tuesday that it has tied up with US-based defence contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. to develop combat vehicles for the Indian Army.

The base platforms of Lockheed combat vehicles will be used to develop light specialist and light armoured multipurpose vehicles for the Indian Army.

“As the largest provider of logistics vehicles to the Indian Army, Ashok Leyland has a strong portfolio in the defence sector. This partnership will not just further India’s ambitions under the Make in India programme, but help us provide robust and meaningful solutions to armed forces across new domains and geographies," Ashok Leyland MD Vinod K. Dasari said in a statement.

"We are buoyant about the defence segment, and expect our play to increase manifold,” he added.

With the Indian armed forces looking to modernize their armoured vehicle fleet, there could be more opportunities ahead, according to Dasari.

“A combination of their (Lockheed Martin) technical expertise and our proven vehicle platforms will enable us to offer versatile solutions to armed forces across segments,” President, light combat vehicles & defence, Ashok Leyland Nitin Seth said. 

Kalpataru Power zooms 8% on order win

The company has received new orders of over Rs. 1,320 Crore.

Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd stock was higher by 8% at Rs. 221. The company has received new orders of over Rs. 1,320 Crore.

The scrip opened at Rs. 220 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 223.7 and Rs. 216.15 respectively. So far 47085(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 3143.42 crore.

The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 291.8 on 06-Aug-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 160 on 12-Feb-2016. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 206.45 and Rs. 184.35 respectively.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 59.45 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 31.41 % and 9.13 % respectively.

The stock is currently trading below its 200 DMA.

Top 17 stocks in focus today: United Breweries, Kalpataru Power, Cadila Healthcare

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

United Breweries: United Breweries, who was seen as a likely candidate to buy the Kingfisher Airline brand, has said that it is not interested in owning the carrier's label, according to media reports.

Cadila Healthcare: The pharma company has announced that there have been some reports regarding the pre-qualification plant inspection of the vaccines facility by WHO in terms of the possible linkage with the company's oral solids and injectable facilities at the Moraiya manufacturing complex.

IDFC Bank, Ricoh India: IDFC Bank will replace Ricoh India in S&P BSE 500 from March 28, as per media reports. 

SBI: The bank said it has raised Rs. 500 crore from issue of bonds on a private placement basis.
 

Tata Motors: The month-long strike at Tata Motors' Sanand plant ended on Tuesday, with workers and management reaching a consensus over the issue of suspended workers following a meeting with state labour secretary Sanjay Prasad.

Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd: The company has secured new orders worth Rs.1,320 crore.

Jay Shree Tea: Jay Shree Tea hopes to improve output and margins, globally the supply crunch may continue as India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka are unlikely to record higher output, says its Managing Director DP Maheshwari.

Ashok Leyland: Ashok Leyland Defence Systems Ltd (ALDS) announced on Tuesday that it has tied up with US-based defence contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. to develop combat vehicles for the Indian Army.

Jindal Steel and Power Limited: JSPL has commissioned a 1.4 MTPA Rebar Mill at Sohar, Oman. 

Corporation Bank: CARE Ratings has revised the credit ratings of state-owned Corporation Bank’s bonds. The bank’s lower tier II bonds has been revised to CARE AA (Double A) from CARE AA+ (Double A Plus) and its upper tier II bonds are revised by CARE AA - (Double A Minus) against its previous rating of CARE AA (Double A).

MIC Electronics: MIC Electronics has received Letter of Award (LoA) from M/s. Energy Efficiency Services Limited (A Joint Venture of PSUs of Ministry of Power, Government of India) and others. Total value of orders is Rs. 12 crore.

McNally Bharat: McNally Bharat Engineering Company Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the company has approved in principle a proposal to merge the company, its subsidiary McNally Sayaji Engineering Limited and EMC Limited with Kilburn Engineering Limited.
 
Purvankara Projects: The company has announced its foray back into the Western Region with a proposed development of 30 acres in Mundhwa, Pune.

Tata Chemicals: Tata Chemicals Ltd has informed BSE that operations at the Company's fertiliser plant at Babrala will be temporarily shut down for the purpose of the planned, regular, major maintenance program generally taken once in two years. 

Wonderla Holidays: Wonderla Holidays announced that its most hi-tech amusement park in Hyderabad is likely to be inaugurated in the third week of April.

SpiceJet: SpiceJet, the country’s favourite low-cost carrier is all set to welcome the festival of colours - Holi in its own signature spicy style.

Rajesh Exports: Jewellery exporter and retailer Rajesh Exports today said it has won a Rs. 1,045 crore export order from Singapore.

Maruti Suzuki India: Maruti Suzuki India, India's leading passenger vehicle maker, today announced that it will start deliveries of its newly launched compact urban SUV, Vitara Brezza, to customers, from 25th March 2016.

Tata Communications: Tata Communications announces that it has partnered with Anam, the world’s fastest growing application-to-person (A2P) messaging monetisation service provider, to create an end-to-end solution that helps mobile network operators globally to tackle revenue loss caused by A2P SMS spam, fraud and ‘grey route’ messaging traffic – where message aggregators take advantage of non-contracted routes to send large volumes of A2P SMS messages.

Mawana Sugars Ltd: The company has announced that in its meeting held on March 21, 2016, the Board of Directors, has considered a process of restructuring its principal debt liabilities to lenders/ARC and has started such a debt restructuring program with Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company Limited which had taken over the debts of the company owed to State Bank of India and State Bank of Travancore. 

Mahindra & Mahindra: Mahindra Agri business has launched yet another product after their edible oil, and this time they are going after the dairy segment. The agri business vertical of the group company Mahindra & Mahindra has launched Saboro - branded dairy products.

Sensex, Nifty to open on a flat note

The Asian markets are trading with a bit of caution as well, Nikkei index in Japan is almost unchanged, the Hang Seng index is down by half a percent while the Shanghai index is also trading lower by 0.4%. 

Wish you a colourful Holi and a happy safe weekend in advance. Some fear has gripped the world following yet more terror attacks; this time on the airport and a rush-hour metro train in Brussels. It’s a different matter that equity market chose to put up some resilience as if to tell the terrorists that they can’t destabilize financial markets by such acts. The usual rush to gold and government bonds is a given in such situations. Travel-related and hospitality related companies often see a knee-jerk reaction in such cases and that explains the tumble of ADRs like makemytrip.
 
The outlook is a flat start. Today being the last trading day of the week, investors may choose to remain on the sidelines. A host of macro data is expected from overseas market during the ensuing Indian market holidays.

Nifty staged a sharp rally towards the end on Tuesday finding support around the 7640 levels. If global cues support later in the day, Nifty is likely to fill the gap up to 7721 mark. Should things turn better in the coming days, we see Nifty making a move towards the 200 DMA, which is placed at 7910.
 
US blue chip stock indices closed lower on Tuesday. The Dow lost 0.2%, S&P 500 index reversed small gains to finish flat while Nasdaq added 0.3%.Tuesday’s thin trading volumes suggested a pause at Wall Street after a strong advance. Meanwhile, Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans said that the Fed should stick with a wait-and-see monetary response amid lack of wage increases and rising inflation.
 
India Ratings and Research expects the current account deficit (CAD) to come in close to 1.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) in FY16. CAD for 3QFY16 came in at USD7.1bn (1.3% of GDP), sequentially lower than USD8.7bn (1.7% of GDP) in 2QFY16, and also lower than USD7.7bn (1.5% of GDP) in 3QFY15.
 
Lower oil prices will slow growth and increase budget deficits in oil-exporting Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in 2016, says Moody's Investors Service.
 
Maruti Suzuki India announced that it will start deliveries of its newly launched compact urban SUV, Vitara Brezza, to customers, from 25th March 2016. The vehicles will be retailed from the Company's over 1,800 sales outlets spread across India.
 
The asset quality and capitalization of India's banking sector is likely to remain under pressure in the next 12 months because of tepid domestic industrial activity, and subdued profitability and high leverage in some corporate sectors. That's according to a report, titled "Indian Banks Face An Uphill Road This Year," that Standard &  Poor's Ratings Services.
 
Moody's Investors Service says that the growth outlook of ASEAN economies is likely to diverge in 2016 and 2017, against the backdrop of subdued global demand.
 
The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has expressed the confidence that the target of 10% reduction in import dependence in Oil & Gas will be achieved by 2022. 
 
Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari informed that there is a target to award road projects worth Rs. 1 lakh crore in the North East during the next five years.