Barring South Korea (up 0.1%), the major Asian equity markets have opened the day in the red with Japan (down 3.6%) and Singapore (down 1.4%) leading the losses. The Indian share market indices have also opened the day on a weak note. Barring auto, healthcare and FMCG, all sectoral indices have opened in the red led by stocks in oil and gas and realty space.
The Sensex today is lower by around 38 points (0.2%), while the NSE-Nifty is down by around 15 points (0.3%). Mid and small cap stocks are also trading in the red with the BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices down by around 0.1% and 0.2% respectively. The rupee is trading at Rs 56.12 to the US dollar.
Energy stocks have opened on a mixed note with Cairn India Ltd and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) leading the losses. However, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) have opened in the green. Leading oil and gas exploration firm ONGC has announced its results for the fourth quarter ending March 2013 The revenue growth for the quarter came at 13% year on year (YoY). The oil output declined by 2.8% YoY while gas production was down by 7% YoY during the quarter. ONGC had to shell out more towards royalty and cess payments because of which the margins were impacted. The statutory levies increased during the quarter and ONGC had to make higher provision for dry wells and survey expenditure. The net profits for the quarter declined by 40% YoY. The subsidy outgo for the quarter stood at Rs 123 bn, lower than Rs 141.7 bn in 4QFY12. In FY13, the bottomline declined by 16.7% YoY, mainly on account of high subsidy payout.
Indian Pharma stocks have opened on a mixed note with Dishman Pharma and IPCA Labs leading the pack of gainers. However, Wockhardt Ltd and Panacea Biotech Ltd have opened the day in the red. The generic drug maker Cipla Ltd has announced its results for the quarter ending March 2013. The company has reported a 2.4 % year on year (YoY) growth in sales for the quarter. The operating profit margins for the quarter stood at 20.7%. The bottomline during the quarter was down by 8.2% YoY. The company's board has recommended a dividend of Rs 2 per equity share for FY13. For FY13, total revenues were up 17.5% YoY while the bottomline was up by 34% YoY.
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