Markets take a breather

Wed, 22 Aug Closing

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   Pre-Open   

   09:30 am   

   11:30 am   

   01:30 pm   

Indices in the equity market in India did go into the positive territory during the closing stages of the day. But they retracted just as fast and consequently, closed the session on a negative note. Thus, while BSE-Sensex edged lower by around 40 points (down 0.21%), NSE-Nifty lost in the region of 8 points. BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices also suffered loss of a similar magnitude, down 0.2% each. Nearly 3 stocks fell for every 2 that closed the day in the positive on the Sensex.

Most Asian indices also closed lower with Europe too trading in the negative currently. The rupee was placed at Rs 55.5 to the dollar at the time of writing.

The fact that markets would take some breather after hitting a 5-month high yesterday always seemed on the cards. Thus, today's decline has to be viewed from that context. Besides, the magnitude of the fall wasn't very high for the alarm bells to start ringing. Hence, all in all it does look like the rally would resume sooner than later barring any major negative development. Long term investors though need not worry about any of this and should continue to focus on long term fundamentals and valuation levels.

As per reports, Ashok Leyland, India's second biggest CV (commercial vehicle) manufacturer is planning to roll out completely electronically governed Neptune engines that are globally benchmarked for lower operating costs. The engine will be featured by the company in its U-Truck platform. This new low-friction and high torque Neptune engines are expected to offer lower operating costs, longer life and better comfort. For the development of the same, the company has taken help from AVL, an Austrian power train and combustion expert design house. It should be noted that Ashok Leyland did not have a particularly good 1QFY13 as higher interest and cost pressures led its bottomline to fall 22% despite a robust 20% growth in topline. The stock closed flat today.

Pharma major Ranbaxy traded strong today, closing higher by more than 4%. The reason for the optimism seems to be the company's latest launch of authorized generic pioglitazone hydrochloride tablets in the US market, under an agreement with Takeda Pharmaceuticals, USA. The product is indicated for patients as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic controls in adults with type II diabetes. The drug, sold under the brand name Actos currently has a market size of US$ 2.7 bn. In a separate development, the US FDA has removed 27 Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) approvals held by the company. However, these ANDAs do not pertain to the current business and will have a negligible impact on the company's US business.