Indian share markets soar higher

Fri, 2 Nov 01:30 pm

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Backed by strong buying in index heavyweights, Indian share markets continued to rally in the post noon trading session. Barring oil and gas, all the sectoral indices are trading positive with capital goods, auto and IT stocks leading the pack of gainers.

BSE-Sensex is up 211 points and NSE-Nifty is trading up 60 points. BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices are trading up by 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively. The rupee is trading at 53.6 to the US dollar.

Most of food stocks are trading in positive led by GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH) and ITC. GSKCH announced its September 2012 quarter results. The company registered a 15% rise in topline on a 13% increase in sales. The company continued to post incremental margins backed by rationalisation in the cost of goods sold and other expenditure. As a proportion of sales, the cost of goods sold and other expenses fell by 46 basis points and 53 basis points, respectively during the quarter. This cost saving was able to offset the rise in staff costs and advertisement expenses. GSKCH's operating margin improved by 80 basis points during the quarter. Aided by a 34% reduction in depreciation outgo and lower interest charges coupled with 20% higher operating profits, GSKCH clocked a robust 25% rise in earnings for the quarter.

Majority of the large IT stocks are trading strong with Tech Mahindra and Mahindra Satyam being the biggest gainers. Wipro declared its results for the quarter ended September 2012 recently. The company reported a 1.5% QoQ increase in gross revenues, while profits increased by 1.9% QoQ. The IT Services business' revenues (78.7% of total revenue in rupee terms) grew by 10.3% QoQ during the quarter in Rupee terms. In US dollar terms, the segment's revenue were higher by 1.7%. At the operating level, profits were higher on the back of a 1.1% QoQ margins expansion (operating margins stood at 19.9% during the quarter). At the end of the quarter, the company's employee strength (IT services business) stood at 140,569, which is higher by 2,017 (on net basis) during 2QFY13. Wipro's attrition declined to 14.6% as compared to 15.6% for the previous quarter (1QFY13). It may be noted that Wipro announced the demerger of its non-IT businesses - which include the consumer care & lighting (incl. furniture business), infrastructure engineering (hydraulics & water business), and medical diagnostic product & services business - into a separate company to be named Wipro Enterprises Limited. Wipro stock is up 1.8%.