Markets up on Asian cues

Fri, 1 Apr 09:30 am

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Asian stock markets have opened the day on an upbeat note. Markets in Indonesia (up 0.7%), Malaysia (up 0.3%) and Singapore (up 0.3%) are leading the gainers’ pack. However, markets in Japan (down 0.1%) continue to face selling pressure. The Indian stock markets have opened the day on a good note. Auto and realty stocks are the major gainers.

The BSE-Sensex is trading higher by around 95 points (0.5%), while the NSE-Nifty is up by around 5 points (0.1%). Midcap and small cap stocks are trading in the positive as well, with the BSE Midcap and BSE Small cap indices up by about 0.5% each. The rupee is trading at 44.53 to the US dollar.

Banking stocks have opened the day on a weak note. As per the new rules of the government ICICI Bank is a foreign company. This is for the purpose of computing the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) made in the country. As per the government, any company that has a foreign holding of more than 50% will be treated as a foreign company for computing FDI. By this definition, other banks that would fall into the foreign company category would include banks like HDFC Bank, Yes Bank, Indusind Bank, Federal Bank, Development Credit Bank and ING Vsyasya Bank. This status would not hamper the general operations of these banks. However, the status would mean that the investments made by the banks would be regulated by the FDI norms. As a result, if these banks were to make any investments in any particular sector or if they have to make any downstream investments, then they would need to abide by the FDI norms. The government has reinforced that this change is only to simplify the FDI process in the country. It would not hamper the banks’ operations in any way. Currently all these banks are trading in the red.

Pharma stocks have opened the day on a good note. Cipla, Ranbaxy and Sun Pharma are the major gainers. Aurobindo Pharma has announced that it has received the US health regulator's approval to manufacture and market Fosinopril Sodium tablets in the American market. The product falls under the cardiovascular therapeutic category and is used for the treatment of hypertension. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given approval for 10 mg, 20 mg and 40 mg strengths of fosinopril sodium tablets. The tablet is a generic version of the Monopril tablets of global biopharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb. The product had sales of about US$ 20 m for the twelve months ended September, 2010, according to IMS. The tablet will be launched soon.