Asian stock markets have opened the day on a mixed note. Stock markets in Hong Kong (down 0.1%), South Korea (down 0.2%) and Japan (down 0.6%) are trading in the red while Indonesia (up 0.7%) and China (up 0.1%) are trading in the green. The Indian stock markets have opened flat. Stocks in the IT and Consumer durables are leading the gains while Power and Banks stocks are trading in the red.
The BSE-Sensex is trading up by 5 points (0.1%) and the NSE-Nifty is up by around 5 points (0.1%) as well. Midcap and small cap stocks are trading in the green, with the BSE Midcap and BSE Small cap indices up by 0.3% and 0.4% respectively. The rupee is trading at 44.08 to the US dollar.
Pharma stocks have opened the day in the green with Sun Pharma and Glenmark Pharma in the green while Dr Reddy's in the red. Glenmark announced its first quarter results for financial year 2012 (1QFY2012). For the quarter, Glenmark's consolidated sales and profit after tax (PAT) grew by 27% YoY and 23% YoY respectively. Sales from the generics business stood at Rs. 3,361 m which translates into a growth of 28% YoY. The Specialty formulation business clocked revenues of Rs. 5,219 m. The US Generics business also grew by 37 % YoY primarily fueled by the existing products. The company has been reporting excellent number in domestic as well as international sales from the US and Europe. To further propel growth, the company has entered into newer markets like Venezeula, Peru and Eucador.
Banking stocks have opened the day on a weak note with Axis Bank and HDFC Bank in the red while ICICI Bank in the green. Following the hike of the policy rates by the Reserve Bank of India, Yes Bank became one of the first banks to raise its base rates. Yes Bank has announced an increase of 0.5% in its base rates to 10.25%. The bank has also increased the interest rates on its old loans that were taken under the Benchmark Prime Lending Rate (BPLR) system. As per the bank, the lending rate has been increased to help the bank absorb the increase in costs on account of the interest rate hikes by Reserve Bank of India. The country's largest lender, State Bank of India, has also stated that it would be increasing its short term interest rates. However, it has not yet disclosed the exact quantum of increase. Other banks are also expected to follow suit and increase their rates.
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