Indian stock markets move into red

Thu, 8 Sep 01:30 pm

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The Indian stock market suddenly lost ground in the last couple of hours and are now trading in the red. Stocks from the software, capital goods, and healthcare space are leading the pack of gainers while those from oil and gas, FMCG and metal are trading weak.

The BSE-Sensex is trading down by 33 points while NSE-Nifty is trading 15 points below yesterday's closing. The BSE Mid Cap index is trading flat while the BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.5%. The rupee is trading at 46.21 to the US dollar.

Auto stocks have been trading mixed with Force Motors, Maharashtra Scooters, and Ashok Leyland leading the pack of gainers. However, Eicher Motors, Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor are trading in the red. As per a leading financial daily, Tata Motors has decided to develop new vehicles for domestic and overseas markets. The auto major will use in-house research and the expertise gained through acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). In this regard, JLR along with Tata Motor's Research and Development (R&D) centers in India and in the UK will research into new products. The Company had recently cut production in both the passenger and commercial vehicle segments so as to align its output with market demand. In the commercial vehicles, most of the cut is in the higher segment, as the light and small commercial vehicle segment was doing well. The company's August sales registered a decline of 3% YoY. Domestic sales of the company were also down 2% YoY. However, the stock of the company is trading in the green.

Pharma stocks have been trading mixed as well with Indoco Remedies, Ranbaxy Lab, and Zandu Realty leading the pack of gainers. However, Orchid Chemicals, Natco Pharma and Elder Pharma are trading weak. As per a leading financial daily, Ranbaxy Laboratories will release a generic version of the blockbuster cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor in the US at the end of November 2011 as planned. Earlier, Mylan Inc. had objected to Ranbaxy's application for selling Lipitor generic since it had filed its application from a plant that was under US drug regulator's scrutiny. It had sued United States Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) for providing the drug's exclusive right to Ranbaxy, blaming that permission was given on the basis of falsified data.

However, a U.S judge had dismissed an attempt by Mylan Inc. to get its generic version of Pfizer's Lipitor on the market and block Ranbaxy's exclusive rights for the drug. As per earlier reports, Ranbaxy is entitled to remain free of competitors for 180 days. It is important to note here that Lipitor is the best-selling cholesterol-lowering pill in the US market. Lipitor's global sales were US$ 10.73 bn in 2010, with US sales of US$ 5.33 bn