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Markets have bounced back from the day’s low and are trading in the positive territory with Nifty trading comfortably above the 8,000 mark with healthcare shares leading the rally. However, persistent sell-off in the Asian equities after US Federal Reserve indicated it may go ahead with an interest rate hike in September dampened the sentiments at the D- Street.
Meanwhile, investors are keenly awaiting the quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) data due to be released post market hours today.
At 11:10 am, the Sensex was at 26,415 up 23 points and the Nifty was at 8,015 up 17 points. In the broader markets, the midcap index has gained 0.2% while the smallcap index is trading higher by 0.4%. The market breadth is weak. The market breadth is positive on the BSE with 1,144 advances versus 1,060 declines.
RUPEE
The rupee is trading lower at 66.28 against the US dollar on sustained month-end dollar demand from importers.
STOCK TRENDS
On the sectoral front, all sectoral indices barring BSE Auto and Metal indices are trading in green with BSE Healthcare index up 1.5% followed by Oil & Gas and Bankex up 0.7% each.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and its partners will invest about $24 billion in producing natural gas from a giant field off Mozambique and converting it into liquid fuel (LNG) for export by ships to consumers like India. The stock is up 1.5%.
Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular have hiked charges for their post-paid users by around 20% in various circles including the national capital. Bharti Airtel is down 2% and Idea Cellular is up 1.4%.
Tata Motors launched a new model of its successful small pick-up truck Ace and said it expects the LCV segment to pick up in six months from now. However, due to continued weakness in the Chinese market hurt the JLR sales. The stock is down 1%.
Sun Pharma and Wockhardt have separately initiated voluntary recall of a number of drugs from the US market due to different reasons. Sun initiated voluntary recall of multiple lots of Bupropion Hydrochloride Extended-release Tablets USP (SR), 200 mg, 60-count bottle, for failed dissolution specification. Meanwhile, Wockhardt started recalling its Lisinopril Tablets USP, 5 mg and 20 mg from the same market for CGMP violations. However, Sun Pharma is up 2% while Wockhardt is trading with marginal gains.
In a bid to regain its fading glory in the utility vehicle market, Mahindra & Mahindra has lined up three models for launch over the coming festival months: TUV300, S101 and an upgraded Quanto, codenamed U215. The stock is trading with marginal gains.
Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta has decided to close down its one million tonne alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district due to non-availability of bauxite ore and falling global metal prices. The stock is down 2%.
Shares of Aurobindo Pharma are trading higher by 2% to Rs 770 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) after the drug maker received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Raloxifene Hydrochloride tablets USP 60 mg.
Shares of Godrej Consumer Products are trading higher by 4% at Rs 1,360 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday said that foreign institutional investors (FIIs)/registered foreign portfolios investors (RFPIs) can buy up to 40%, revised from earlier 35% of the paid up capital of Godrej under the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS).
