Indian markets end in green

Thu, 24 Sep Closing

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The Indian equity markets wiped off initial losses and finished the trading day marginally in the green amid mixed global cues. The BSE-Sensex closed higher by about 41 points, while the NSE-Nifty ended higher by about 23 points. Mid and smallcap stocks ended the day on a positive note as well, with the BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices closing higher by about 0.2% and 0.6% respectively. Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note with consumer durables and IT sector witnessing majority of the buying activity. Stocks from metal and capital goods sector closed with negative bias.

Asian markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.86%, while the Nikkei dragged down the Hang Seng lower. They fell 2.76% and 0.97% respectively. European markets are weak today with indices in Germany lower the most. The DAX is down 0.80% while France's CAC 40 is lower 0.26% and London's FTSE 100 is lower by 0.20%. The rupee trimmed its initial losses to trade at 66.11 against the US$ in the afternoon session.

Healthcare sector finished the day in green with Lupin Ltd and IPCA Labs leading the gains. Shares of Lupin Ltd surged more than 3% in intraday trading today after it was reported that the company hiked price of its generic diabetes drug Fortamet by three times for 500 mg and 1000 mg variants. Despite the price hike, the company's drug is still 15% cheaper than its innovator. Fortamet has two generic players in the market, Lupin and Mylan. Lupin has 60% market share of the drug in value terms. Mylan, which got the approval for the drug in 2013, has not yet launched its generic version. Fortamet's current market size is estimated at $170 million.

According to a leading financial daily, Tata Motors has achieved a new feat in its last mile public transport portfolio by reaching a remarkable sales mark of 300,000 Tata Magic, its most popular public transport vehicle. This is a significant achievement for the company given that unlike a cargo vehicle, apart from vehicle registration, a passenger transport vehicle also needs permit, an approval issued by a state or regional transport authorities for the use of a passenger transport vehicle. Only on receiving these permits an operator can ply these vehicles on the roads. With the Tata Magic, Tata Motors has been successful in breaking this highly complex structure of the last mile passenger transport vehicle industry with over 85% market share, in this segment.