Amid a divergent trend among various index constituents, the key benchmark indices continued to hover near the flat line in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was off 0.6 points at 32,324.81. The Nifty index was up 5.05 points or 0.05% at 10,071.45. Indices traded in a small range around the flat line so far during the session.
Trading for the week kicked-off on a positive note as domestic stocks drifted higher in early trade in sync with Asian stocks. Volatility hit bourses in morning trade as indices regained positive zone soon after erasing early gains to hit intraday low in negative zone. Stocks extended gains and hit fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. Indices hovered near the flat line after paring gains in early afternoon trade. Key benchmark indices traded near the flat line in afternoon trade.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.1%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 1.08%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1,521 shares rose and 1,003 shares fell. A total of 162 shares were unchanged.
Pharma shares saw mixed trend. Alkem Laboratories (up 1.53%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (up 0.52%), Cadila Healthcare (up 0.52%) and Cipla (up 0.26%) gained. Aurobindo Pharma (down 0.12%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 0.59%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 0.05%), Lupin (down 0.41%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 0.14%) fell.
Wockhardt rose 0.54% after the company said it received US drug regulator's approval for antibiotic injection. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 7 August 2017.
Wockhardt said it received approval from the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) for an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for 1gm, and 2gm injections of Oxacillin. Wockhardt is expected to launch this product in the United States soon. The product is being manufactured at a contract manufacturing facility, based near Milan, Italy.
Oxacillin is a penicillanase-resistant beta-lactam antibiotic and is used to treat many different infections caused by penicillin-resistant Staphylococcal and other bacterial infections, such as urinary tract infections, respiratory tract infections, septicemia, wound infection, bacterial meningitis, etc.
Most capital goods stocks rose. Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) (up 1.49%), Bharat Electronics (up 1.54%), L&T (up 0.2%), Punj Lloyd (up 0.03%) and Thermax (up 0.67%) gained. ABB India (down 1.29%), BEML (down 0.32%) and Siemens (down 0.38%) fell.
Britannia Industries surged 5.65%. The company's consolidated net profit fell 1.41% to Rs 216.12 crore on 5.63% increase in net sales to Rs 2224.82 crore in Q1 June 2017 over Q1 June 2016. The result was announced during trading hours today, 7 August 2017.
Commenting on the performance, Varun Berry, managing director, Britannia Industries, said that it was a good quarter in the face of challenging market environment and de-stocking in trade due to goods and services tax (GST). Growth in the international business continued to be under pressure due to deteriorating geopolitical situation and currency fluctuations in geographies like Middle East and Africa. Growth in dairy business has also been subdued primarily due to our focus on driving products with high profitability and reducing the company's play in the less profitable commoditized products.
On the commodity front, prices of key raw material continue to remain high with inflation in Q1 standing at around 6%. Meanwhile, the company's accelerated cost efficiency program and endeavour to leverage fixed costs have helped the firm improve its profitability on a sequential basis, he added.
Autoline Industries jumped 19.97% after the company said it entered into an agreement to sell its manufacturing unit in Pimpri, Pune. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 4 August 2017.
Autoline Industries said it will utilise the sale proceeds to settle the debt that has a charge on the Pimpri land holding and reduce overall debt exposure of the company. The activities of the company's Pimpri unit will now shift to its Chakan facility in Pune, it said. The company believes that the consolidation of facilities will accrue substantial operational efficiency, cost savings, and smoothening of supply chain management by utilizing the available resources in Chakan Unit.
Overseas, European stocks were trading higher and Asian markets gained after strong US hiring data bolstered optimism about economic growth in the world's largest economy. Industrial output in Europe's largest economy, Germany surprisingly fell at the end of the second quarter, data from the country's Economics Ministry showed. In adjusted terms, output declined by 1.1% in June, marking the index's first monthly decline since last December.
US stocks closed higher on Friday, 4 August 2017 with the Dow ending at a record for an eighth straight session following a read on the labor market that came in above expectations, a sign that current valuations may be supported by current economic activity.
On the economic front in US, the July payrolls report showed the US created 209,000 new jobs in July. The government raised its estimate of new jobs created in June to 231,000 from 222,000. Separately, the unemployment rate moved to 4.3% from 4.4%, retouching a 16-year low. The data is seen as crucial for the Federal Reserve as it decides whether to raise interest rates one more time this year.
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