A volatile day of trading...

Tue, 7 Apr Closing

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The Indian markets had a rather volatile trading session today. The morning session saw the indices barely stay afloat, while in the afternoon session, the indices fell into the red as the RBI left the key rates unchanged. However, buying activity intensified in the final trading hour leading to a positive close. The BSE-Sensex closed higher by about 12 points, while the NSE-Nifty ended flat. Gains were largely seen in metals and FMCG stocks. The S&P BSE Midcap index and the S&P BSE Smallcap index did better and closed higher by around 1% each.

Asian stocks ended the day on a firm note, while stocks in Europe were also trading in the green. The rupee was trading at Rs 62.24 to the dollar at the time of writing.

Pharma stocks closed mixed today. While Aurobindo Pharma and Wockhardt found favour, Sun Pharma, Cipla and Glenmark Pharma closed in the red. As per a leading business daily, Glenmark has received USFDA approval for launching Norethindrone Acetate and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets USP in the US. This is the generic version of Warner Chilcott's patented drug FemHRT. The drug is indicated for the treatment of menopausal symptoms in women. According to IMS Health, the annual sales of the drug stood at US$ 38.6 m for the twelve months ended February 2015. It must be noted that Glenmark's revenues from the US business had slowed down in FY15 and the main reason for this has been the lack of product approvals. Currently, the company has 96 products which are distributed in the US market and it has 69 ANDAs pending approval with the USFDA. Thus, the revenue visibility is there and depends on how fast it gets approvals for these from the US regulator.

Auto stocks also closed mixed today. While Bajaj Auto, Escorts and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) closed firm, the key losers were Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki. As per a leading business daily, M&M's South Korean subsidiary Ssangyong Motor (SMC) has sold a total of 12,870 units in March 2015. Out of these, 7,719 units are in domestic sales and 5,151 are in exports. Domestic sales were bolstered by the launch of Tivoli, up from 32% from the previous month. Exports surged by 63% during the month once again led by the start of Tivoli shipments to the overseas markets. Ssangyong is looking to ramp up the sales of Tivoli in the coming month. It must be noted that one of the reasons for M&M acquiring a controlling stake in Ssangyong is to bridge its product gap as it did not have a presence in the premium SUV category, something that SMC manufactures. Through Ssangyong, M&M is also looking at entering newer geographies.