IT & realty stocks propel gains

Thu, 17 Jan 01:30 pm

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Indian equity markets strengthened further during the post noon trading session on the back of sustained buying activity across index heavyweights. Stocks from the realty, IT and oil and gas sectors are leading the pack of gainers, while those from the metal and capital goods sectors are amongst the top underperformers.

The BSE-Sensex is up by 95 points and the NSE-Nifty is trading up by 25 points. While the BSE Mid Cap is trading up by 0.09%, the BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.06%. The rupee is trading at 54.69 to the US dollar.

Most of the pharma stocks are trading mixed with IPCA Labs and Ajanta Pharma being among the top gainers while Shasun and Dishman Pharma are among the losers. Perrigo, a US based company, has launched betamethasone valerate foam 0.12% under 180-days exclusivity. It is the generic equivalent Luxiq foam 0.12%. As per the sources, Cipla was among the defendants and was sued by the innovator for the said product. This signifies there must be some arrangement with Cipla for supply of drug or its API. In 2005, Cipla had signed a deal with Pentech Pharma for supply of generic drugs, where the names of the drugs remained undisclosed. Pentech Pharma was later acquired by Perrigo. The brand size of Luxiq Foam 0.12% is US$ 40 m. The product belongs to GSK Plc's company, Stiefel Laboratories. The drug is indicated for the relief of corticosteroid-responsive skin conditions of the scalp or scalp psoriasis. Cipla is trading down by 1%.

Technology stocks are trading on a positive note with HCL Technologies, Mahindra Satyam and Wipro leading the gains. HCL Technologies has declared its second quarter results (the company has a June year ending) for the financial year 2012-2013 (2QFY13). The company witnessed a 3% QoQ growth in its revenues (in rupee terms). This was on the back of a 3% QoQ growth in volumes. The company reported a muted growth of 0.3% QoQ growth in software services and a 10.2% QoQ growth in infrastructure services during the quarter. The BPO segment witnessed a tepid growth of 1.1% QoQ. The company's operating margins improved to 22.6% as compared to the 22.2% in the previous quarter (quarter ended September 2012). Net profits grew by 9% QoQ during the quarter. The company has announced an interim dividend of Rs 2 per share. The company has added 39 new clients during the quarter. Attrition rates for software services declined marginally to 13.6% as compared to 13.4% in the previous quarter (September 2012). The stock is trading up by 4.8%.