Barring China (down 0.2%), all major Asian stock markets have opened the day on a firm note with stock markets in Taiwan (up 1%) and Japan (up 1%) leading the gains. The Indian share markets have opened the day on a firm note. Barring the IT index, all sectoral indices are trading firm with capital goods and metal indices leading the gains.
The Sensex today is up by around 132 points (0.5%), while the NSE-Nifty is up by about 39 points (0.5%). Mid and small cap stocks are also trading in the green with the BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices up by around 0.9% each. The rupee is currently trading at Rs 60.70 to the US dollar.
Auto sector stocks have mainly opened the day on a firm note with Escorts and Eicher Motor leading the gains. As per a leading financial daily, the foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Indian automobile sector has declined sharply by about 85% year-on-year (YoY) during the April-May period of the current fiscal. As per data from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), FDI inflows declined from US$ 478 million during April-May 2013 to just about US$ 73 million during April-May 2014. It must be noted that the auto sector has been witnessing a major slowdown in demand over the last couple of years. During financial year 2013-14 (FY14), domestic car sales declined by 4.65% YoY.
Indian pharma stocks have opened the day on a firm note with Elder Pharma and J B Chemicals leading the gains. As per a leading financial daily, Hyderabad-based drug maker Aurobindo Pharma has nearly doubled its capital expenditure (capex) plan for the current financial year 2014-15 (FY15). While the total capex for FY14 was Rs 3.5 bn, the company has set forth a capex target of around Rs 6 bn for FY15. The company's capex plan, which includes maintenance capex as well, will be evenly spread out over active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and formulations.
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