Late buying fuels indices

Fri, 8 Jun Closing

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   Pre-Open   

   09:30 am   

   11:30 am   

   01:30 pm   

Indian stock markets languished in the red for the larger part of the trading session today on the back of relentless selling pressure across index heavyweights. However, the afternoon session saw buying activity picking pace. Sustained buying in the later hours ensured a positive close for the indices. While the Sensex today closed higher by around 70 points (up 0.4%), the NSE-Nifty today closed higher by around 19 points (up 0.4%). The BSE Mid cap and the BSE Small cap also notched gains of 0.2% each. Gains were largely seen in FMCG and banking stocks.

As regards global markets, Asian indices closed in the red today while European indices have also opened in the red. The rupee was trading at Rs 55.43 to the dollar at the time of writing.

Pharma stocks closed mixed today. While Piramal Healthcare and Dr.Reddy's closed firm, Glenmark and Lupin were at the receiving end. As per a leading business daily, Piramal Healthcare has completed the acquisition of the US-based Decision Resources Group (DRG) for US$ 635 m (nearly Rs 34 bn). The company will now operate DRG as a stand-alone business and it will remain headquartered in Burlington, MA. DRG will continue to be led by CEO Mr Hoenigsberg and the existing senior management team. The US-based firm provides web-enabled research, predictive analytics via proprietary databases and consulting services to the global healthcare industry. DRG reported a 20% CAGR in the last five years and is one of the fastest growing companies in the US$ 5.7 bn global healthcare information industry. DRG has projected revenues of US$ 160 m for 2012. It must be noted that Piramal Healthcare had sold its domestic formulations business to Abbott Laboratories in FY11 for a consideration of US$ 3.2 bn. The company since then has entered the financial services sector and is also looking to invest in its existing business and acquire companies.

As per a leading business daily, Bosch Ltd is looking to relocate its Bangalore plant to Bidadi from the original plant in Adugodi. Bidadi is a town located 32 km away from Bangalore on the Bangalore Mysore highway. The company has acquired 97 acres in Bidadi for the construction of the new manufacturing facility and will invest nearly Rs 6 bn for development of the facility in both phases. In 2012-13, plant construction will be taken up and around 1,000 employees will shift to the Bidadi premises. In 2015-16, construction for the second phase will begin and around 3,000 employees will be shifted to the new centre. The reason for this move is that no further expansion was possible at the plant in Adugodi. Having said that, the company intends to retain this location, which will be used for expanding its R&D centre. The stock closed lower today.