Local stocks drifted higher in early trade on buying demand in index pivotals At 9:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 295.97 points or 0.85% at 35,027.70. The Nifty 50 index was up 78.40 points or 0.77% at 10,322.80. The Sensex was trading above the 35,000 mark.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.24%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 1.26%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, is strong. On the BSE, 1312 shares rose and 382 shares fell. A total of 90 shares were unchanged.
Stocks in news:
Cipla jumped 6.87% after the company announced the launch of remdesivir under its brand name CIPREMI. The U.S. FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to Gilead Sciences Inc. for emergency use of remdesivir for the treatment of hospitalized 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients. It is the only U.S. FDA approved Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) treatment for adult and paediatric patients hospitalized with suspected or laboratory confirmed COVID-19 infection. In May, Gilead Sciences Inc. extended a voluntary non-exclusive license to Cipla to manufacture and market Cipla's generic version of remedisvir called CIPREMI.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals surged 10%. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals on Friday (19 June) said it received Indian drug regulator's approval to launch the oral antiviral drug, Favipiravir, for treating mild to moderate COVID-19 patients in India. It is for restricted emergency use in India. Restricted use entails responsible medication use where every patient must have signed informed consent before treatment initiation.
Alkem Laboratories rose 1.37%. Alkem Laboratories on Saturday (20 June) said its board has approved the closure of operations of its manufacturing facility i.e Betalactum Block located at Daman from 19 June 2020. The Betalactum manufacturing facility mainly catered to International Market and was significantly underutilized. The company has explored alternate manufacturing opportunities to cater to demand.
Unichem Laboratories rose 0.79%. Unichem Laboratories reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 17.19 crore in Q4 March 2020 compared with net profit of Rs 37.99 crore in Q4 March 2019. Net sales fell 14.6% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 320.23 crore during the quarter. Profit before tax stood at Rs 0.44 crore in Q4 FY20, down 98.5% from Rs 28.98 crore in Q4 FY19.
Punjab National Bank (PNB) rose 2.32%. PNB reported a net loss of Rs 697.20 crore in Q4 March 2020, lower than net loss of Rs 4749.64 crore in Q4 March 2019. Total income rose 11.3% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 16,388.32 crore in Q4 FY20. Pre-tax loss in Q4 FY20 stood at Rs 969.03 crore, lower than pre-tax loss of Rs 7209.93 crore in Q4 FY19.
Balkrishna Industries rose 1.73% after the company reported 42.3% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 264.70 crore on 1.2% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 1372.27 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019.
Novartis India lost 2.52% after net profit dropped 65.3% to Rs 6.78 crore on 15.1% fall in net sales to Rs 93.70 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019.
LIC Housing Finance fell 4.34% after consolidated net profit tanked 39.1% to Rs 424.31 crore on 5.1% rise in total income to Rs 4,903.54 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019.
Global Markets:
Overseas, Asian stocks were trading little changed on Monday. China kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged on Monday, with the 1-year loan prime rate left at 3.85%. The 5-year loan prime rate was also kept steady at 4.65%.
In US, stock indexes gave up strong early gains to close mostly lower Friday, after the World Health Organization signaled that the coronavirus pandemic remains a deadly threat, and Apple said it will re-close some stores due to rising case counts in parts of America, casting doubt on the speed of economic recovery.
Apple said it's reclosing a total of 11 stores in Florida, Arizona, South Carolina and North Carolina. All of the stores had been re-opened since Apple initially closed them in March amid the outbreak.
The World Health Organization at a Friday briefing also said that the coronavirus pandemic has entered a new and dangerous phase. Arizona and Florida reported record spikes in confirmed Covid-19 cases on Friday as states continue their phased reopenings and ramping up testing.
In economic reports, the U.S. current-account deficit, a measure of the nation's debt to other countries, slipped 0.1% in the first quarter. The current-account deficit fell to $104.2 billion from a revised $104.3 billion in the 2019 fourth quarter.
Back home, the market ended with strong gains on Friday, supported by positive global shares. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rallied over 6% on turning net-debt free after raising Rs 1.69 lakh crore in less than two months. The barometer S&P BSE Sensex rose 523.68 points or 1.53% at 34,731.73. The Nifty 50 index added 152.75 points or 1.51% at 10,244.40.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,237 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 880.66 crore in the Indian equity market on 19 June, provisional data showed.
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