Gains seen across the board

Fri, 1 Oct 11:30 am

   Previous Close   

   Pre-Open   

   09:30 am   

   01:30 pm   

   Closing   

   RoundUp   

Indian indices traded firm led by sustained buying activity across heavyweights in the previous two hours of trade. Gains were seen across the board. Stocks from the realty and consumer durables space are trading firm while stocks from the FMCG and banking space are seeing fewer gains.

The BSE-Sensex is trading up by 269 points while the NSE-Nifty is trading 78 points above the dotted line. BSE-Midcap and the BSE-Smallcap index are both up by 1.5%. The rupee is trading at 44.74 to the US dollar.

Auto stocks are trading positive with Escorts and TVS Motor trading firmly in the green. M&M has now entered into the high-revenue motorcycle segment by launching two models at different ends of the spectrum. A 110-cc entry-level bike and a premium 300 cc offering were launched. The company claims that its premium offering is the country's fastest bike, offering speeds upto 133 km per hour. 'Stallio', the 110-cc bike, will be available in two variants and is priced between Rs 41,199 and Rs 44,699 (ex-showroom Pune). The 300-cc bike called 'Mojo' (a "beast") designed by the company's Italian subsidiary Engines Engineering, will be priced at Rs 175,000. The launch comes ahead of the festival season of Diwali. The company has spent up to Rs 500 m developing the two bikes. M&M plans to start selling the 'Stallio' by mid-October, while sales for the 'Mojo', will kick-off by the year-end or early next year.

Healthcare stocks are currently trading positive with Cadila Healthcare and Orchid Chemicals leading the gains. Piramal Healthcare plans to formally close its Vitamin-A factory in the Thane area by tomorrow. This unit is situated on 40 acres. Piramal plans to take advantage of the realty boom in Thane. 106 employees in the plant have opted for a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS). The other option given to them was an offer for transfer to the company's units in Mahad (Maharashtra) or Hyderabad. The plant was taken over by the pharma company in 1996-97 from Roche Ltd. The unit was set up by Roche in 1964. According to a leading business daily, Piramal Healthcare is planning to soon formally approach the Thane civic body. This will be to seek clearances for conversion of the land from industrial use to residential-cum-commercial use. The group has stake in Sunteck Piramal Realty, which is developing projects in the Bandra Kurla Complex and some other areas in Mumbai. The group also has a real estate fund called Indiareit, which manages Rs 19 bn in two domestic funds and an international fund. Recently, Rs 4 bn was raised for a new fund.