The major Asian stock markets have opened the day on a mixed note with stock markets in China (up 0.5%) and Hong Kong (up 0.1%) leading the gains in the region. However, the stock markets in Japan (down 1.0%) and Malaysia (down 0.1%) have opened in red. The Indian share market indices have opened the day on a firm note. Barring capital goods and oil and gas, all sectoral indices have opened in green with stocks in the software and pharma space leading the pack of gainers.
The Sensex today is up by around 60 points (0.3%), while the NSE-Nifty is up by around 17 points (0.3%). Mid and small cap stocks are also trading in the green with the BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices up by around 0.4% each. The rupee is trading at Rs 55.18 to the US dollar.
Indian Pharma stocks have opened the day mainly in green led by JB Chemicals and IPCA labs. As per a leading financial daily, Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd's US based subsidiary Caraco has successfully completed the tender offer to acquire US based Dusa Pharmaceuticals Ltd. As per the company, post the tender offer's expiration, 20.9 m shares of Dusa had been validly tendered This represents nearly 82.4% of the outstanding shares of Dusa. It was in last month that Sun Pharma has signed a pact to acquire Dusa Pharmaceuticals for around US$ 230 million (around Rs 12.5 bn). As per the agreement, Caraco had to commence a tender offer for all of the outstanding common stock of Dusa at a price of US$ 8 per share in cash. The price implies a 38 % premium to the closing price of Dusa's common stock on November 7, 2012. The company said the shares which were not tendered during the offer would be cancelled and would cease to exist. The shares would be converted into the right to receive the same amount (US$ 8 per share) in cash as paid in the tender offer. Post the merger, Dusa's stock will cease to be traded on the NASDAQ global market.
Energy stocks have opened the day on a mixed note with Cairn India Ltd and Castrol Ltd leading the gains. However, Jindal Drill Ltd and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) have opened in the red. As per a leading financial daily, ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's New Delhi visit, special tax concessions to ONGC owned Imperial Energy have been rejected. India had been pressing for tax concessions to Imperial Energy which is based in Siberia. This was intended to make up for the prohibitively high cost of extraction from tight oil assets in Siberia because of bad terrain, cold climate and killer taxes.
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