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Sensex languishes in negative zone as Gowda starts presenting Rail Budget

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Last Updated : Jul 08 2014 | 11:55 PM IST

Volatility continued as key benchmark indices weakened once again after cutting entire intraday losses in early afternoon trade as Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda started presenting the final Railway Budget for 2014-15 in Lok Sabha today, 8 July 2014. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 44.97 points or 0.17%, up about 75 points from the day's low and off close to 135 points from the day's high. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was weak.

ONGC dropped on reports the government is planning to sell a 5 to 10% stake in state-run oil & gas exploration firm. HDFC scaled record high. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals rose after the company said Glenmark Generics Inc., USA a subsidiary of Glenmark Generics, has been granted final abbreviated new drug approval (ANDA) from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for Telmisartan Tablets.

At 12:20 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 44.97 points or 0.17% to 26,055.11. The index dropped 117.11 points at the day's low of 25,982.97 in morning trade, its lowest level since 4 July 2014. The index rose 90.36 points at the day's high of 26,190.44 in early trade, a lifetime high of the index.

The CNX Nifty was down 21.25 points or 0.27% to 7,765.90. The index hit a low of 7,744.95 in intraday trade, its lowest level since 4 July 2014. The index hit a high of 7,808.85 in intraday trade, a lifetime high of the index.

The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was weak. On BSE, 1,614 shares declined and 1,061 shares rose. A total of 93 shares were unchanged.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 23.27 points or 0.24% at 9,533.87. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 56.62 points or 0.54% at 10,514.16. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

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Glenmark Pharmaceuticals rose 0.84% to Rs 594.10 after the company said during market hours Glenmark Generics Inc., USA a subsidiary of Glenmark Generics has been granted final abbreviated new drug approval (ANDA) from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for Telmisartan Tablets. Glenmark will commence distribution of the product immediately.

Telmisartan Tablets are Glenmark's generic version of Boehringer Ingelheim's Micardis. Telmisartan is indicated for the treatment of hypertension. The approval is for the 20 mg, 40 mg and 80 mg tablets. For the 12 month period ending March 2014, Telmisartan garnered annual sales of $250 million in the United States, according to IMS Health.

ONGC dropped 1.42% to Rs 409.25 on reports the government is planning to sell a 5 to 10% stake in state-run oil & gas exploration firm.

Siemens fell 0.04% to Rs 983.45. The company said during market hours that it has won an order worth of approximately Rs 52 crore from NTPC. The order is for supply of state of the art distributed control system (DCS) for its 4X210 megawatts (MW) power plant located in Bhagalpur, Bihar. The scope of the project includes the supply, erection and commissioning of control and instrumentation for the complete power plant.

HDFC rose 2.57% to Rs 1,043.70 after hitting record high of Rs 1,045.20 in intraday trade. There are expectations that the tax benefit with respect to interest payment on housing loans will be raised in the Union Budget on Thursday, 10 July 2014. At present, a maximum deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh is allowed on taxable income towards interest on housing loan.

A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices trimmed gains after opening on a firm note. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, and the 50-unit CNX Nifty, both scaled record high. Volatility continued as key benchmark indices reversed initial gains in morning trade. The Sensex regained 26,000 mark after falling below that level for a brief period in morning trade. Volatility continued as key benchmark indices weakened once again after cutting entire intraday losses in early afternoon trade as Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda started presenting the final Railway Budget for 2014-15 in Lok Sabha today, 8 July 2014.

Gowda said he has ben flooded with requests for new trains. Stating that Railways will play a role in building a dynamic India, Gowda said that he aims to make India the largest freight carrier of the world. "Railways are carrying 31% of total freight currently. Railways carried 1.3 billion tn of freight last year. It is growing rapidly," Gowda said.

Gowda said that a surplus of Rs 602 crore is estimated for the Raiwalys in FY 2015. The market borrowing of Railways is estimated at Rs 11790 crore for FY 2015, he said.

The Railway minister said that out of 676 projects sanctioned, only 356 remain completed. Railways will require Rs 5 lakh crore to complete ongoing projects, he said.

The current week is a crucial period for Indian financial markets. The Finance Ministry will table Economic Survey for 2013-14 tomorrow, 9 July 2014. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present the final Union Budget for 2014-15 in Lok Sabha at 11:00 IST on Thursday, 10 July 2014. After a clear mandate in Lok Sabha elections this year and with BJP perceived as a business friendly party, expectations from the Budget are running high.

There are expectations that the finance minster will announce measures in the Budget aimed at bolstering economic growth. Increase in outlay on infrastructure sector with focus on stricter and time-bound implementation of projects, initiatives towards investments in agriculture and irrigation aimed at easing supply bottlenecks for food-grains, fiscal prudence with roadmap to reduce the fiscal deficit, a roadmap for reducing the subsidy burden and timeline for implementation of the Goods and Services Tax are some of the expectations from the Budget.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 59.81, compared with its close of 60.0125/0225 on Monday, 7 July 2014.

Most Asian stocks edged higher n choppy trade on Tuesday, 8 July 2014. Key benchmark indices in China, Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia rose 0.02% to 0.98%. Key benchmark indices in South Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan were off 0.09% to 0.33%.

Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 6 points at the opening bell on Tuesday, 8 July 2014. US stocks fell Monday, 7 July 2014, on profit booking after Dow Jones Industrial Avergae and the S&P 500 index hit record high last week.

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First Published: Jul 08 2014 | 12:12 PM IST

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