Indian stock markets open in the green

Thu, 6 Feb 09:30 am

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   11:30 am   

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The major Asian stock markets have opened the day on a positive note with stock markets in Singapore (up 1.0%) and South Korea (up 0.8%) leading the gains. The Indian share markets have also opened the day on a firm note. Stocks in the metal and consumer durables space are leading the gains.

The Sensex today is up by around 87 points (0.4%), while the NSE-Nifty is up by around 20 points (0.3%). The midcap and smallcap stocks have also opened in the green with the BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices trading higher by 0.7% each.The rupee is currently trading at Rs 62.34 to the US dollar.

Engineering stocks have opened the day on a mixed note with Manugraph India and Ingersoll Rand Ltd leading the gains. However, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) and Cummins India were leading the losses. Engineering major BHEL has announced results for the third quarter of the financial year 2013-14 (3QFY14). The company has reported a 15.7% YoY decline in the net sales. The figures for the quarter are not comparable with the year-ago period due to the merger of Bharat Heavy Plates & Vessels Ltd (BHPV) with the company. Because of the same, around Rs 386 m has been added to the sales. The operating profit for the quarter declined by 39.7% YoY. The company has reported a decline of 41.2% YoY in the bottomline. Again, due to the merger, the pretax profits took a hit of Rs 164 m during the quarter. The company's orderbook stood at about Rs 1,006 bn at the end of December quarter. The company's board of directors has approved an interim dividend of Rs 1.31 per share.

Indian Pharma stocks have opened the day mainly in the green with Panacea Biotech Ltd and Orchid Chemicals Ltd leading the gains. As per a leading financial daily, Biocon is planning to strengthen its research service arm. The wholly owned subsidiary of Biocon and the leading global pharmaceutical company Baxter International have collaborated to establish the Baxter Global Research Center (BGRC) at Syngene in Bangalore. The collaboration is expected to support Baxter in the research and development of medical products and devices to serve patients both in India and around the world. The team at Syngene will work closely with Baxter scientists to engage in R&D activities with an aim of product and analytical development and pre-clinical evaluation in parenteral nutrition and renal therapy. The monetary value of the partnership has not been disclosed. As per the management, Syngene has invested significantly in setting up the infrastructure for the contract with Baxter with some fund contribution from the US company. As per the management, the company wants some more stability in the Indian political system before listing the arm.