After having opened the day on a negative note, Indian stock markets lost further ground and continued to trade in the red in the post-noon trading session. Metal & IT stocks are the biggest losers while consumer durable and oil & gas stocks are trading flat with marginal gains.
BSE Sensex is down 298 points and NSE-Nifty is down by 83 points. On the other hand, BSE Mid Cap is trading down by 0.49% while BSE Small Cap index is trading down by 0.56%. The rupee is trading at 63.59 to the US dollar.
Banking stocks are trading weak today with Indian bank and Bank of Baroda leading the pack of losers. The RBI has levied a penalty of Rs 1.5 crore each on three banks namely Dena Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Bank of Maharashtra for flouting KYC norms. Besides the banking regulator has also reprimanded 8 other banks to put appropriate measures in place in order to ensure strict compliance. While the validity of the transaction conducted by these 3 banks remains unquestioned it is the deficiency in following the compliance rules that has led RBI to levy the fine. We reckon such a step would make banks more serious in adhering to the compliance mechanisms that are already in place.
Healthcare stocks are trading mixed with Ranbaxy and Biocon leading the gains. However, Dr Reddy's and Elder Pharma are trading weak. Biocon announced its 4QFY15 results today. Sales increased by 14.5% YoY to Rs 8.54 bn during the quarter. Net profits stood at Rs 2 bn registering a sharp improvement of 78% YoY aided by exceptional gains of Rs 1 bn arising from sale of shares in Syngene. Operating profits were up 4.7% YoY, however, margins succumbed due to a 93% YoY increase in R&D costs.
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