Asian stock markets have opened the day on a weak note. Stock markets in Hong Kong (down 1.8%), South Korea (down 1.8%), Singapore (down 1.3%), Indonesia (down 1.3%), Japan (down 0.4%) and China (down 0.3%) are in the red. The Indian stock market have opened the day on a weak note. Stocks in the metal and Information Technology (IT) space are leading the losses.
The BSE-Sensex is trading down by 223 points (1.4%) and the NSE-Nifty is down by around 72 points (1.5%). Mid cap and small cap stocks are trading in the red, with the BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices down by 0.8% and 0.3% respectively. The rupee is trading at 52.12 to the US dollar.
Auto stocks have opened the day on a weak note with Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki trading in the red. Heavy vehicles manufacturer Ashok Leyland and US-based agriculture machinery manufacturer John Deere have marked their entry into the Indian construction equipment industry with the launch of earth mover 435 Backhoe Loader. This is the first product of the partnership. The two companies had formed a 50:50 joint venture (JV) by the name of Ashok Leyland John Deere Construction Equipment Company almost 3 years back. While John Deere has advanced technical know-how and experience in the global construction equipment space, Ashok Leyland has a good understanding of the Indian market and has an expertise in manufacturing, sourcing and distribution. The JV company is in the process of introducing at least 2 more products, including a wheel loader, in the coming future.
Pharma Stocks have opened the day on a weak note with Aurobindo Pharma and Ranbaxy in the red. Ranbaxy has declared its third quarter results for calendar year 2011-2012 (3QCY11). Ranbaxy's net sales grew by a lukewarm 8.7% YoY, adversely affected by the decline in the US generics business and weak growth in the domestic market. The US business showed a 3% YoY de-growth in dollar terms on account of price erosion in some of its products. Operating margins (EBITDA) increased by 110 bps (1.1%) to 8.3% aided by lower other operating expenses. The net loss in the quarter stood at Rs 4.6 bn as against net profits of Rs 3 bn in the corresponding quarter last year. This was majorly on account of the forex losses on outstanding loans.
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