Buying momentum fuels indices

Wed, 12 Sep Closing

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Indian equity markets began the day's proceedings on a positive note. Although the morning session saw the indices trade within a range, buying momentum intensified in the later hours enabling them to notch further gains. Buoyancy was sustained in the final trading hour as well and the indices closed well above the dotted line. While the Sensex today closed higher by 147 points, the NSE-Nifty today closed higher by 41 points. The BSE Mid Cap and the BSE Small Cap notched gains of 0.4% each. Gains were largely seen in metals and auto stocks.

As regards global markets, Asian indices closed firm today while European indices have also opened in the green. The rupee was trading at Rs 55.13 to the dollar at the time of writing.

Most auto stock closed firm today with the key gainers being Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland. As per a leading business daily, Tata Motors' subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has invested £ 370 m to upgrade its manufacturing facilities in the UK. The investment would also help the company to increase productivity as it prepares to launch the fourth generation Range Rover across 170 countries. As part of the investment, the company has installed a new aluminium body shop for the latest Range Rover at its Solihull plant, near Birmingham. It has also upgraded paint-applications technologies, trim assembly and warehousing facilities. It must be noted that Tata Motors' performance in FY12 and 1QFY13 was largely driven by the strong performance of JLR as the domestic operations continued to remain under pressure due to slowdown in the industry and competition. In terms of products, Land Rover has been the major growth driver for the company especially the new launch Evoque.

As per a leading business daily, Aurobindo Pharma has received final approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Escitalopram Oxalate Tablets in the strengths of 5mg, 10mg and 20mg. These tablets are the generic equivalent of Forest Laboratories Inc's Lexapro Tablets. This drug is an anti-depressant and falls under the Central Nervous System (CNS) segment. It is indicated for treatment of depression associated with mood disorders and had a market size of approximately US$ 2.8 bn for the twelve months ending March 2012 according to IMS. The product has been approved out of Unit III formulations facility in Hyderabad. This is a positive for the company and will enable it to enhance revenues although competition will increase. Aurobindo now has a total of 158 ANDA approvals from the USFDA. The stock closed lower today.