While some buying activity was witnessed at lower levels during the previous two hours of trade, the indices, nevertheless, continued to trade well below the dotted line. Stocks from the banking and realty sectors are the biggest losers while those from consumer durables and auto sectors are seeing the least declines.
The BSE-Sensex and the NSE-Nifty are trading lower, down by around 330 points and 95 points respectively. The BSE-Midcap and BSE-Smallcap are also trading lower, down by around 2.3% and 2.9% respectively. The rupee is trading at 46.98 to the dollar.
Siemens announced its full year FY09 results (September ending quarter) yesterday. The company's sales fell by just around 4% YoY during the year, led by a fall in the segments of industry automation, power transmission and healthcare. The company's operating margins expanded to 10.6% in FY09, from 8.9% in FY08. This was on account of a fall in purchase of traded goods and lower other costs (both as percentage of sales). Its net profits grew by 17.5% YoY during the quarter, helped by the expansion in operating margins, higher other income as also extraordinary income consisting of profit from the sale of investments in Siemens Information Systems Ltd. and Siemens Information Processing Services Ltd. of Rs 1.5 bn. The board has recommended a dividend of Rs 5 per share (which works out to a dividend yield of 1%) at the current market price. The stock of Siemens is trading lower currently and is infact leading the losers amongst engineering stocks.
Pharma stocks are currently trading mixed with Ranbaxy and Cipla leading the list of gainers on the exchanges. As per a leading business daily, pharma major Sun Pharma has got a tentative approval from the US drug regulator (US FDA) for its generic product 'Strattera' which is used in the treatment of mental disorders. The regulator has approved 'Strattera atomoxetine hydrochloride' capsules, which is equivalent to drug manufacturer Eli Lilly's 'Strattera' capsules. They have annual sales of nearly US$ 500 m in the US. This is a positive for the company and will help in augmenting sales from the highly competitive US generics market. Sun Pharma is currently trading marginally lower.
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