Pharma stocks lead markets higher

Tue, 5 Oct 09:30 am

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The Indian markets have started today's session on a positive note. The benchmark indices opened below the breakeven mark but have moved into the positive territory. Other key Asian markets are in the red with Taiwan (down 0.7%) leading the pack of losers. The US markets ended lower by 0.7% yesterday.

Currently in India, heavyweights from the BSE-Sensex are trading strong with pharma majors attracting investors' interest. The BSE-Sensex is trading higher by around 36 points, while the NSE-Nifty is trading up by around 9 points. Buying interest is also being witnessed among mid and small cap stocks as the BSE-Midcap and BSE-Smallcap indices are trading higher by 0.6% and 0.7% respectively. The rupee is trading at 44.68 to the US dollar.

Auto stocks have opened the day on a strong note. Gainers here include Bajaj Auto and M&M. As per a leading business daily, Tata Motors has decided to increase the size of its qualified institutional placement (QIP) sale by 43% to US$ 750 m (Rs 33.3 bn). The company's board has also authorised raising the size of the offering of 'A' ordinary shares from up to US$ 400 m (Rs 17.7 bn) to up to US$ 550 m (Rs 24.4 bn). These measures have been taken due to the encouraging response from investors. It may be noted that the company had launched an issue of ordinary shares and 'A' ordinary shares through the QIP route, for a base amount of US$ 525 m (Rs 23.3 bn), comprising US$ 200 m (Rs 8.9 bn) of ordinary shares and US$ 325 m (Rs 14.4 bn) of 'A' ordinary shares. The company has to repay debts to the tune of Rs 80 bn this year, besides incurring capital expenditure of Rs 25 to Rs 30 bn on a standalone level.

Steel stocks have opened the day on a strong note. Gainers here include Bhushan Steel and Tata Steel. As per a leading business daily, Tata Steel is exploring the possibility of setting up a mega project in collaboration with Nippon Steel, Japan. It is the world's fourth largest steel producer. They are already working on a joint venture (JV) for the production of high-grade automotive cold-rolled flat products at Jamshedpur. It is likely that one of Tata Steel's greenfield projects would be converted into a JV for the new mega project. It may be noted that Tata Steel has greenfield projects in Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Interestingly, Nippon Steel has been looking to make inroads into the fast growing Indian steel market for some time. In fact, its Japanese peers - FE Steel, Sumitomo Metal Industries, and Kobe Steel - are already present in India through JVs with Indian steel and mining firms.