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Markets have recovered in the noon trades owing to a strong rally in the pharma shares with Dr Reddy’s Lab leading rally after the company decided to expand in Europe and grow its proprietary products business over the next two years.
Meanwhile, the sentiments are boosted after India deferred the talks with the European Union on the proposed free trade agreement expressing disappointment and concern over the EU banning sale of around 700 pharma products clinically tested by GVK Biosciences.
At 1:25 pm, the Sensex was at 28,313, higher by 90 points and the Nifty was at 8,592, up 25 points.
Dr Reddy’s Lab, Cipla, Lupin and Sun Pharma are trading higher between 0.7-2.7%.
_____________________(updated at 1:25 PM)
Benchmark indices continue to trade in a narrow range with Sensex and Nifty oscillating between negative and positive zone.
At 13:05 pm, the Sensex was at 28,244, higher by 21 points and the Nifty was at 8,575, up 7 points.
The top gainers on the Sensex are Dr Reddy’s Labs, Lupin, L&T, BHEL and Hindalco.
On the losing side, ITC, Coal India, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki and GAIL are down 1-2%.
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Updated at 11:30
The markets are in consolidation mode this morning post the gains garnered in four out of the past six trading sessions. There is, however, a lot of stock-specific action, especially in the pharma and cement sectors.
At 11.30am, the Sensex was at 28,184, lower by 39 points and the Nifty was at 8,557, down 10 points. In the broader markets, the BSE smallcap and midcap indices were also flat at 12,150 and 11,529 respectively. The market breadth is even; there are 1,247 advancing stocks as against 1,251 declining stocks on the BSE.
RUPEE
The rupee has edged up 4 paise to 63.71 against the US dollar in early trade today at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on increased selling of the dollar by exporters amid higher foreign funds inflow.
OIL
Oil prices rose in Asia today after a mixed US energy report showed a healthy decline in crude stockpiles but a rise in output that could aggravate the global supply glut. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for September delivery rose two cents to USD 45.17, while Brent crude for September gained 11 cents to USD 49.70 in late-morning trade.
Oil prices hit multi-month lows on Wednesday after a surge in gasoline stockpiles in the United States as the summer season, the country's biggest demand period for motor fuels, neared its end.
SECTORS AND STOCKS
Pharma stocks are firm in mid-morning trades. Dr Reddy’s Lab is leading the rally on plans to expand in Europe and grow its proprietary products business over the next two years. The company has entered into a strategic collaboration with Amgen – one of the world’s leading independent biotechnology companies - to market and distribute three Amgen medicines in India in the areas of oncology and cardiology. Lupin and Cipla are the other major gainers in the pharma space.
Cement stocks have also strengthened on the back of a good show by Shree Cement, which showcased better-than-expected realisations in the cement segment for the June quarter. The expected uptick in cement demand post monsoons is also presumably boosting the cement counters this morning. ACC, Ambuja Cements, Ultratech Cement and Shree Cement have added about 1% each.
Select IT stocks such as Infosys and TCS are also doing well after Cognizant reported its best-ever sequential revenue growth and revised its revenue forecast upwards for the second quarter in a row, on Wednesday.
On the other hand, the FMCG major ITC has lost nearly 2% to top the loser's list on the BSE. Coal India, Wipro, ICICI Bank and Maruti are the other major losers on the BSE.
