Key benchmark indices recovered after erasing a lion's portion of intraday gains in early afternoon trade. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 88.88 points or 0.36% at 24,806.87. The 50-unit Nifty 50 index was up 23.95 points or 0.32% at 7,534.15. Firmness in Asian stocks supported gains on the domestic bourses. The Sensex gained 48.37 points or 0.20% at the day's low of 24,766.36 in early afternoon trade. The barometer index hit six-week high when it rose 242.52 points or 0.98% at the day's high of 24,960.51 in early trade. The Nifty gained 14.15 points or 0.19% at the day's low of 7,524.35 in early afternoon trade. The index hit six-week high when it rose 73.50 points or 0.97% at the day's high of 7,583.70 in early trade.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive. On BSE, 1,246 shares rose and 1,192 shares fell. A total of 152 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.32%, underperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.46%, outperforming the Sensex.
In overseas markets, Asian stocks rose, buoyed by gains on Wall Street during the previous trading session on Friday, 11 March 2016, and firmer crude oil prices. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite ended 1.75% higher. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was currently up 1.11%. In Japan, the Nikkei Average settled 1.74% higher. The Bank of Japan's (BOJ) two-day policy meeting begins today, 14 March 2016. The BOJ is seen holding policy rate steady after adopting negative interest rates at its meeting in late January.
US stocks jumped on Friday, 11 March 2016, in a rally largely fueled by a rebound in oil prices. The US Federal Reserve's crucial two-day monetary policy meeting begins tomorrow, 15 March 2016. Federal Reserve officials are likely to hold short-term interest rates steady at its policy meeting amid uncertainties about global financial markets and global growth. The Fed in December 2015 raised its benchmark federal-funds rate from near zero to a range between 0.25% and 0.5%.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) was down 0.61% at Rs 1,212.50. Mahindra's Farm Equipment Sector (FES), a part of the Mahindra Group, announced its foray into agricultural equipment rental services under the name TRRINGO. A service dedicated to the farmers of the nation, TRRINGO will operate as a franchisee based model and will effectively bring in new age digital technology to the tractor rental business. This is expected to significantly increase the reach of farm mechanization and enable digital empowerment of the farmers of India. This venture would be set up as a new age startup company. TRRINGO is a first of its kind technology driven model in the tractor rental business for those farmers who may not be able to afford their own tractor and farm equipment. The TRRINGO service will operate on a dual business model. M&M made the announcement during trading hours today, 14 March 2016.
Pfizer was down 7.12% to Rs 1,790.50 after the company announced that it has discontinued the manufacture and sale of its "Corex" cough syrup with immediate effect. The company took the decision after the Government of India prohibited the manufacture, sale and distribution of fixed dose combination of Chlopheniramine Maleate + Codeine syrup with immediate effect, citing health risk. The prohibition is likely to have an adverse impact on the revenue and profitability of the company. Corex recorded sales of Rs 176 crore for nine months period ended 31 December 2015.
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Pfizer said that 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 manufacture and distribution of Corex cough syrup. The company said that it is exploring all available options at its disposal.
State-run iron ore miner NMDC was up 1.78% at Rs 94.55 after raising iron ore lump prices. NMDC has raised the lump price by 8.33% to Rs 1,950 per tonne effective Friday, 11 March 2016. The state-run firm also raised prices for iron ore fines by 9.62% to Rs 1,710 per tonne. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 11 March 2016.
FMCG shares were mixed. Colgate Palmolive (India) (up 3.17%), Marico (up 2.18%), Britannia Industries (up 0.92%), Jyothy Laboratories (up 0.86%), Dabur India (up 0.66%) and Godrej Consumer Products (up 0.02%), edged higher. Hindustan Unilever (down 0.05%), GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (down 0.26%), Tata Global Beverages (down 0.39%), Nestle India (down 1.16%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care (down 1.28%) and Bajaj Corp (down 1.65%), edged lower.
On macroeconomic front, data announced during market hours today, 14 March 2016, showed that inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) stood at negative 0.91% in February 2016 as compared to a reading of negative 0.9% (provisional) in January 2016. Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was minus 1.19% compared to a build up rate of minus 2.61% in the corresponding period of the previous year. For December 2015, WPI was revised to minus 1.06% as compared to minus 0.73% reported earlier.
Meanwhile, the data announced after market hours on Friday, 11 March 2016, showed that industrial production declined for the third straight month, registering a fall of 1.5% in January 2016 over January 2015. The output of the manufacturing sector declined 2.8% in January 2016, contributing to the decline in industrial production. Meanwhile, the mining sector output improved 1.2%, while the electricity generation also galloped 6.6% in January 2016.
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