)
Benchmark indices have extended losses subdued by the weakness in capital goods, information technology and select bank stocks which has wiped off the gains in FMCG and pharmaceutical shares.
At 12:58PM, the 30-share Sensex was down 120 points at 29,260 and the 50-share Nifty was down 45 points at 8,878.
In the broader market, both the BSE Midcap index up 0.1% and Smallcap index trading flat have performed better than the front-liners. Market breadth in BSE is negative with 1,445 declines against 1,119 advances.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors were net buyers in equities worth Rs 2,786 crore on Wednesday as per provisional stock exchange data.
Buzzing Stocks
9 out of the 12 sectoral indices of BSE are trading lower. BSE Capital Goods index, down 1.2% is the top loser followed by BSE Metal index, down 1%. BSE FMCG index up 1.6% is the top gainer followed by BSE Healthcare index up 1.5%.
Sun Pharma has extended gains and is up around 2% after the company announced that it has reached an agreement with GSK Pharma to acquire the latter's Opiates business in Australia.
Cipla's Joint Venture partner, Stempeutics Research, has announced that the United States Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO) has granted a US process patent for its novel stem-cell based drug Stempeucel that will be used for the treatment of Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI), a progressive form of peripheral arterial disease, which blocks the arteries in the lower extremities, resulting into reduction of the blood flow. The stock is up 0.8%. Dr Reddys Lab has gained 1.4%.
FMCG majors, ITC and HUL are trading higher by 1% and 2.4% respectively.
Among bank shares, SBI has shed around 0.6%. According to media reports, SBI plans raise between Rs 110 billion and Rs 150 billion ($1.8-$2.4 billion) via share sale by next month end. Axis Bank is down 0.2%. Axis Bank has priced a $250 million bond issue via a tap of its existing 3.2 per cent senior unsecured notes due 2020. The notes, issued in Reg-S format will be fungible with the existing 2020 maturity paper.
Shares of metal companies were trading lower after China, the world's largest consumer of metals, lowered its economic growth forecast for the current year. Tata Steel and Hindalco have shed around 1.5% and 2.5% respectively.
From IT space, TCS is down 1.6%. TCS has announced the release of its Underwritng Workbench, a multi-faceted platform that offers real-time insights and guide risk mapping process for the insurance sector.
ONGC is down 0.5%. ONGC Western Offshore Fields has touched 325,000 barrels oil per day on March, 3 2015. This is the highest production from Mumbai Offshore during the last five years.
Capital Goods stocks, like L&T has declined around 2% and BHEL is down 0.8%.
