Realty, IT stocks lead the gains

Wed, 5 Aug Closing

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The Indian markets ended the day comfortably in the positive zone, with the BSE-Sensex ending higher by about 152 points, while the NSE-Nifty closed higher by about 52 points. Gains were seen in stocks across the board with those from the realty, IT and healthcare spaces leading the pack. Mid and smallcaps ended the day on a strong note as well, with their respective indices closing higher by about 0.8% and 1% respectively.

Asian stock markets closed mixed today. While the Nikkei 225 gained 0.46%, the Hang Seng rose by 0.44%. The Shanghai Composite on the other hand, lost 1.65%. European markets are broadly higher today with shares in Germany leading the region. The DAX is up 1.03% while France's CAC 40 is up 1.03% and London's FTSE 100 is up 0.18%. The rupee depreciated 19 paise to 63.93 against the US$.

According to a leading financial daily, FMCG major Britannia Industries will set up two greenfield plants, one near Erode in Tamil Nadu and the other in Bengaluru, Karnataka, at an estimated investment of Rs 2.5 bn. The new units are likely to be ready by December and will have a total capacity of 100,000 tonnes per annum. This is part of the Rs 5 bn capex that the company has planned during the fiscal. Reportedly the company is looking at a 10% volume growth annually and it needs to add at least 80,000 tonnes (or a 10% addition) to their total capacity each year for the next few years. The company, currently, has a total capacity of 800,000 tonnes per annum across 14 of its own plants and 28-30 contract manufacturing facilities in the country. Apart from the two proposed units, it is also expanding production capacity at its Gujarat unit.

According to a leading economic daily, Wockhardt is recalling over 5 million bottles of various drugs, used for treating ailments like high blood pressure and ulcer, in the US market due to deviations in current good manufacturing practice norms laid down by the American health regulator. All the drugs being recalled by the company have been manufactured at its Mumbai-based facility and distributed in the US by its subsidiary, Wockhardt USA. The recalls have been classified as 'Class-II' by the FDA, which is defined as "a situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote". Last month, Wockhardt had recalled 162,142 cartons of various drugs in the US market. The scrip of Wockhardt ended the trading day up by 0.5% on the BSE.