After moving in a narrow range in mid-morning trade, key benchmark indices drifted lower in early afternoon trade. At 12:18 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was off 26.44 points or 0.1% at 25,823.86. The 50-unit Nifty 50 index was currently off 10.60 points or 0.13% at 7,855.35.
Earlier, a bout of volatility was witnessed in early trade as key benchmark indices reversed direction after opening higher. The Sensex rose 72.17 points or 0.27% at the day's high of 25,922.47 at the onset of trading session, its highest level since 3 December 2015. The barometer index fell 35.12 points or 0.13% at the day's low of 25,815.18 in early afternoon trade. The Nifty gained 22.80 points or 0.28% at the day's high of 7,888.75 in opening trade, its highest level since 3 December 2015. The index fell 12.95 points or 0.16% at the day's low of 7,853 in early afternoon trade.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive. On BSE, 1,423 shares rose and 958 shares fell. A total of 205 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.28%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.42%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
Auto stocks rose. Tata Motors (up 1.33%), Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (up 0.37%), Eicher Motors (up 0.45%), Hero MotoCorp (up 0.39%), Bajaj Auto (up 0.09%) and Ashok Leyland (up 0.46%) gained. Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.55%) and TVS Motor Company (down 1.41%) fell.
Power generation stocks gained. Reliance Infrastructure (up 3.85%), Reliance Power (up 2.1%), Tata Power Company (up 0.91%), CESC (up 0.63%), NTPC (up 0.09%), Torrent Power (up 0.72%), NHPC (up 0.25%) and JSW Energy (up 1.38%) edged higher. Adani Power (down 0.34%) and Jaiprakash Power Ventures (down 0.29%) fell.
State-run power transmission major Power Grid Corporation of India was up 0.16%.
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Coal India (CIL) rose 0.61% after the state-run coal mining giant signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ministry of Railways yesterday, 23 December 2015, for facilitating increased transportation of coal through rail. The wagons will be procured by Indian Railways on behalf of CIL. As per the MoU, the maintenance of these wagons will be done by Railways at its own cost. CIL will procure 2,000 high capacity wagons (33 rakes) in the first tranche which will facilitate increased evacuation of coal from Coal India sidings. CIL is targeting production of 1 billion tonnes of coal by 2020. Wagon availability will be a key factor for achieving this target.
Aurobindo Pharma rose 1.02% after the company said that it has received final approval from USFDA to manufacture and market Famotidine Tablets USP, 20 mg and 40 mg, in the US. Aurobindo Pharma said that the approved Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) is bioequivalent and therapeutically equivalent to the reference listed drug product (RLD) Pepcid Tablets, 20 mg and 40 mg, of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. Famotidine Tablets are used for the short-term treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease and active duodenal ulcer. The approved product has an estimated market size of $29 million in the US for the twelve months ended October 2015, according to IMS.
In overseas stock markets, Asian stocks witnessed mixed trend. US stocks closed higher for the third straight session yesterday, 23 December 2015, led by outsize gains in the energy and materials sector stocks as crude oil futures rebounded after the weekly crude oil data showed US crude inventories posted an unexpectedly large decline last week.
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