After opening firm, the Indian stock markets have given up most of the gains in morning session. Among the sectoral indices, maximum buying activity is witnessed in Software and Banking stocks, while Energy and FMCG stocks are at the receiving end.
The BSE-Sensex is trading up 39 points. The NSE-Nifty is trading up 5 points. The BSE Mid Cap index is trading down 0.2% and the BSE Small Cap index is trading down 0.6%. The rupee is trading at 60.16 to the US dollar.
Private banking stocks are trading mixed today. While City Union Bank is leading the gainers; ING Vysya Bank is leading the losers. Axis Bank, India's third largest private sector bank, has announced results for 1QFY15. The bank's Net Interest Income (NII) grew 15.5% YoY while the net profit grew by 18.3% YoY. Despite a 45.7% YoY fall in provisions, the bottomline was hampered due to higher operating costs as well as lower non-interest income. Non-interest income was down 5% YoY, while operating expenses were up by 16.8% YoY. The asset quality numbers were slightly below par. In absolute terms, gross non-performing assets (NPAs) rose 39% YoY and net NPAs rose 41% YoY. Axis Bank is trading down 1.6% today.
Indian pharma stocks are trading mixed with, Dishman pharma and Indoco remedies leading among the pack of losers while Natco pharma and Wockhardt Ltd are the leading gainers. As per the financial daily, the European pharma company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is looking to divest some of its mature products in its portfolio. Various generic companies including India based Lupin Ltd is planning to bid for these brands, as GSK has put some of its older products on auction. GSK is selling of various off-patent drugs which are marketed in North America and Western Europe. These drugs have total annual sales of around US$ 1.7 bn. The portfolio of drugs offered for sale includes antidepressant Paxil, migraine treatment Imitrex, Zantac for stomach acid and Zofran for nausea. While there has been no confirmation by Lupin on this aspect as of now. However, as Lupin has been looking for acquisition of lucrative brands since some time, there is fair chance of Lupin bidding for the GSK brands.
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