 "Dr Reddy's Lab gains in a flat market; Nifty holds 7,900")
Markets continue to trade in a narrow range with Nifty holding its crucial 7,900 mark on lack of active participation due to year-end holidays. However, action is seen in the broader market with select mid-caps and small-cap shares gaining momentum.
Further, traders remained cautious ahead of the December F&O expiry due tomorrow.
By 12:50 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading lower by 13 points at 26,067 and Nifty50 was flat at 7,927. On the other hand, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.4% each.
Meanwhile, Asian shares were trading largely in red with Japan’s Nikkei and China’s Shanghai Composite bucking the trend climbing 0.2%-0.3% as investors became wary following renewed selling in recently punished crude oil futures.
STOCKS IN FOCUS
8 out of 13 sectoral indices are trading in green with BSE Capital Goods and metal indices gaining nearly 0.5% each.
Healthcare major Dr Reddy’s Lab is trading 2% higher as it re-launches its generic version of Nexium in the US.
Bharti Airtel has acquired 74% stake in Augere Wireless, which holds 4G spectrum in Madhya Pradesh, but did not disclose financial details of the deal. Shares of Bharti Airtel have climbed 0.6%.
Meanwhile, mortgage lender HDFC has gained 0.6% after Standard Life received approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to increase its stake in HDFC Life Insurance by 9% to 35%.
Among prominent gainers include Tata Steel, BHEL, NTPC and Wipro up between 0.5%-1.5% each.
On the flip side, HDFC Bank reduced its base rate, or minimum lending rate, by five basis points (bps) to 9.3%, making it at par with that of State Bank of India. The stock is trading with marginal losses.
Maruti Suzuki, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Auto all have dropped between 0.5%-1% each.
Among the key mid-cap and small-cap gainers, Adani Power, Biocon, Aditya Birla Nuvo, Alstom T&D India, Zee Entertainment Enterprises and Tata Global Beverages are up between 2%-4%.
Shares of Petron Engineering Construction have surged nearly 5% after the company bagged a construction order from JSW Cement Ltd.
Zuari Agro Chemicals has gained 3% after the company’s board approved merger of three wholly-owned subsidiaries into the company.
Shares of SREI Infrastructure Finance are down 4.5% after investors booked profits following sharp gains in the previous session.SREI Infrastructure Finance had gained sharply in the previous session after France-based BNP Paribas Lease Group acquired shares in SREI Infrastructure Finance against its stake in SREI Equipment Finance.
Indian Hotels has climbed 1.5% after Reliance Mutual Fund hiked stake in the Tatas-run company to nearly 8%, making the hospitality sector another key area with significant investments by the two Ambani groups.
IDBI Bank is up 2% as government infused Rs2,229 crore into the bank in lieu of preferential allotment of shares.
Additionally, shares of tiles company are witnessing an upsurge on media reports stating that the commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the government would consider anti-dumping duty for the tiles industry. Cera Sanitaryware, Kajaria Ceramics, Somany Ceramics and Nitco have gained between 0.5%-12%.
