Indian stock markets trading weak

Thu, 10 Jan 01:30 pm

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Indian stock markets lost their initial gains and continued to trade weak during the post noon trading session. The sectoral indices are trading mixed, with auto and oil and gas being among the top gainers, while power and capital goods are among the losers.

BSE-Sensex is up by 17 points and NSE-Nifty is trading up 4 points. While BSE Mid Cap is trading down by 0.12%, BSE Small Cap index is trading down by 0.10%. The rupee is trading at 54.6 to the US dollar.

Most of the pharma stocks are trading in red with Jubilant Life Science and Dishman Pharma being the top losers. As per the official sources, Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals has entered into settlement with Purdue Pharma over the Oxycontin drug. The terms of settlement remain undisclosed. Ranbaxy's Para IV application, infringed three patents of Purdue's drug which were expiring in March 2025. Purdue had sued Ranbaxy over all the said patents. The generic company was seeking for regulatory approval of the innovator's drug, to make and sell generic oxycodone hydrochloride extended release tablets before the patent expiry. "Oxycontin extended release", is sold under various strengths. The Oxycontin brand has annual sales of US$ 3 bn in the US and is among the best selling painkiller drugs. Based on the available information, Ranbaxy believes that it is the first applicant for one or more strengths of Oxycodone and might be entitled for 180-days exclusivity. Ranbaxy is trading down by 0.28%

Majority of the auto stocks are trading in the green with TVS Motors and Tata Motors leading the gains. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has revised downwards its growth forecast for the automobile industry for FY13. As per SIAM, the auto industry is expected to grow by 0-2% in FY13 lower than the 1-3% growth projected in October earlier. This downgrade comes in the light of a severe slowdown impacting all automobile segments including passenger cars, two-wheelers and commercial vehicles. The automobile body has blamed sluggish economic growth and high interest rates for the demand slowdown whereas slack infrastructure development has adversely impacted the commercial vehicle segment. In commercial vehicles, Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland have registered sales volume declines of 38% and 40%, respectively in medium to heavy commercial vehicles in 3QFY13. In the two wheeler segment, only Bajaj Auto has managed to post 4% sales growth during the quarter. In passenger cars, SIAM has predicted a 0-1% sales growth for FY13, which is the slowest growth in the last nine years.