Indian equity markets continued to trade in the green during the last two hours of trade. Sectoral indices represented a mixed performance with metal and healthcare stocks leading the list of gainers. FMCG and capital goods stocks witnessed selling pressure.
The BSE-Sensex is trading higher by 17 points and NSE-Nifty is trading flat. BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices are currently up by 0.5% and 0.6% respectively. The rupee is trading at 55.37 to the US dollar.
IT stocks are trading in the green led by Moser-Baer India and Mahindra Satyam. According to a leading financial daily, Infosys is set to acquire Zurich based SAP implementation and management consultancy, Lodestone for about US$ 350 m. Lodestone has clients across manufacturing, automotive and life sciences segments. It has 850 employees including 750 consultants. Infosys acquisition will be in line with the Indian IT company's 3.0 strategy whereby it wants to expand its consulting and systems integration business. Post the deal, Infosys is expected to have around US$ 1 bn coming from its SAP practice.
Pharma stocks are trading strong led by Natco Pharma and Aurobindo Pharma. According to a leading financial daily, Cipla is planning to market the products on its own in major markets like USA. Till now the company has been operating primarily through sales and distribution partners in these markets. The company, which is forming a separate sales team for the US market, has started filing applications aggressively with the US Food and Drugs Administration (USFDA) seeking approval for its own generic products. This move is aimed at getting more value for products and technology. Cipla's strategy so far has been focused on manufacturing products while entering partnerships with various other companies for sales and distribution across markets. The current strategy has not allowed Cipla to grow as per its potential and that is probably a reason that it is now looking at a transformation.
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