Indian stock markets close in red

Mon, 10 Feb Closing

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   Pre-Open   

   09:30 am   

   11:30 am   

   01:30 pm   

In the last hour of trade the markets slipped below the dotted line to close the day in the red. Software and metal stocks proved to be a major drag on the indices and witnessed the maximum selling pressure. That said, the BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap stocks were in favor and the respective indices ended the day a tad higher by 0.1% each. The BSE Sensex closed lower by 57 points and the NSE-Nifty was seen down by 15 points.

On the global front, most of the Asian indices closed the day on a mixed note while most of the European indices opened the day on a positive note. The rupee was trading at Rs 62.36 to the dollar at the time of writing.

As per leading financial news daily, the Centre has raised grave concerns over the high number of illegal mining cases and on the quality of reports shared by Maharashtra government in this regard. The Centre has decided to focus upon understanding the issue of legal mining by Maharashtra and other states including Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. According to the compilation by the department of mines, 34,265 cases of illegal mining were reported in Maharashtra in FY11, 40,642 in FY12, 42,918 in FY13 and 7,248 in FY14 (up to June 2013). Given the fact that illegal mining results in loss of revenue and other realizations, the Centre has asked to remove the difference and disparity in the report given in this regard. Moreover, augmentation of manpower, allocation of budgetary resources and creation of additional posts would help strengthen the machinery of the states mentioned above.

MNC Pharma stocks ended the day on a mixed note. While GSK Pharma and Pfizer ended the day in the green; Sanofi India and Novartis ended the day in the red. As per leading financial news daily, Wockhardt Ltd has reported disappointing earnings performance during 3QFY14. The profits at Rs 3.04 bn have dropped from Rs 4.28 bn a year ago reporting 29% YoY decline on account of fall in sales. The sales for the company took a toll after the U.S. health regulator banned two of the drug maker's plants from exporting products to the United States - its largest market. The sales have dropped 14% YoY to Rs 12.4 bn. The company's U.S. business that accounts for 44% of revenue fell 30% during 3QFY14. Back in November, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an import alert against Wockhardt's Chikalthana plant in western India. The FDA had imposed a ban on the company's Waluj plant in May too.