Indian market indices open weak

Fri, 25 May 09:30 am

   Previous Close   

   Pre-Open   

   11:30 am   

   01:30 pm   

   Closing   

Most Asian stock markets have opened the day on a weak note with stock markets in Indonesia (down 0.6%), Taiwan (down 0.5%) and Singapore (down 0.3%) leading the losses in the region. The Indian equity markets indices have also opened the day on a negative note. Stocks in the Oil and gas, IT and banking space are leading the pack of losers. However, FMCG stocks are trading in the green.

The Sensex today is down by around 59 points (0.4%), while the NSE-Nifty is down by around 18 points (0.4%). However, mid and small cap stocks are trading in the green with the BSE Mid cap and BSE Small cap indices up by around 0.1% and 0.3% respectively. The rupee is trading at Rs 55.92 to the US dollar.

Telecom stocks have opened the day on a mixed note with Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications trading firm. However, Tata Teleservices and Idea Cellular are trading in the red. As per a leading daily, Bharti Airtel has announced that it would acquire stake in Qualcomm Asia Pacific's Indian broadband and wireless access (BWA) entities. Bharti has invested US$ 165 m to acquire 49% stake in Qualcomm. The stake acquisition is a mix of acquiring 26% equity interest held by Global Holding Corporation Private Ltd and Tulip Telcom Limited, and issuance of fresh equity shares. The partnership would roll out 4G services in more locations including Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala. Bharti's BWA is already present in Kolkata, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra and the telecom company has 3G licences in 13 regions in India. Qualcomm, which aims to deploy Long Term Evolution Time Division Duplex (LTE TDD) in India, required the support of an Indian player. It will now provide technical assistance to Bharti towards this objective. This will help establish Bharti Airtel as a nationwide broadband leader in combined 4G and 3G services space.

Indian pharma stocks have opened the day on a mixed note with Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd, IPCA Labs and Torrent Pharma trading firm. However, Aurobindo Pharma and Orchid Chemicals are facing selling pressure. As per a leading financial daily, Sun Pharma has received approval from the US health regulator to sell its generic Azelastine HCL nasal spray, which is therapeutically equivalent to Medpointe Pharm HLC's Astelin nasal spray, in the US market. The company has received approval for its product in the strength of 0.1% (137 mcg/ spray). The company estimates the annual sales of Azelastine HCL nasal spray in the US to be around US$ 144 m. The nasal spray is used for treating symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis such as rhinorrhea, sneezing and nasal pruritus. In addition, the spray is also used for treating symptoms of vasomotor rhinitis, such as rhinorrhea, nasal congestion and postnasal drip in adults.