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Sensex Opens Strong; Metal and Power Stocks Rally
Tue, 11 Feb 09:30 am

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Asian stock markets are higher today as Chinese and Hong Kong shares show gains. The Shanghai Composite is up 0.1% while the Hang Seng is up 1.3%. The Nikkei 225 is trading down by 0.6%. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at record highs on Monday as Chinese workers and factories slowly returned to business following a Lunar New Year holiday that was protracted by the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

Back home, India share markets opened on a strong note. The BSE Sensex is trading up by 328 points while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 110 points. The BSE Mid Cap index opened up by 0.5% while BSE Small Cap index opened up by 0.6%.

All sectoral indices have opened the day on a positive note with metal stocks and power stocks witnessing maximum buying interest.

Speaking of the Indian share markets, note that Indian indices have witnessed a starkly polarised situation since 2018, after the uninterrupted bull rally of 2017 entered a period of correction.

While the Sensex recovered from the correction and went on to hitting new life-time highs, the broader markets - predominantly the small and midcap stocks haven't recovered much.

Ankit Shah, the editor of daily premium newsletter Equitymaster Insider (requires subscription), has been talking about this trend since a long time. But now, he has even more elaborate data to show you how deep this trend has been.

He pulled out data on 1,638 companies listed on the NSE.

And he shares his observations in a recent edition of The 5 Minute WrapUp...

  • Between 29 December 2017 and 30 December 2019, just 246 companies have witnessed gains. Together, these 246 companies added Rs 29.8 trillion worth of market capitalisation.

    In other words, 1,392 companies are below the levels they traded at the end of December 2017. Together, these 1,392 companies lost Rs 28.6 trillion worth of market capitalisation.

    So, you see the money has literally shifted from one place to another.

Even among the 246 companies that witnessed gains, the major chunk was captured by just a small list of companies.

This can be seen from the chart below...

A Very Small Group of Stocks Captured All the Gains

As you can see, the top 5 companies captured 41% of all the gains in market capitalisation over the last two years. In fact, the top 30 stocks captured more than 80% of the gains.

In short, money has been rushing to safety, into large, liquid, bluechips stocks.

This brings the question: Where can you look for such bluechip stocks?

You can consider the bluechip recommendations made by our Safe Stocks guru, Tanushree Banerjee. She has picked her top 7 stocks for 2020.

Moving on, the rupee is currently trading at 71.24 against the US$.

The rupee on Monday rose by 10 paise to close at 71.30 against the US dollar amid easing crude oil prices and weakening of the American currency in the overseas market.

While weak dollar and easing crude oil prices supported the rupee, heavy selling in domestic equities weighed on the local unit and restricted the up move.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened on a positive note at 71.36.

During the day, it saw a high of 71.28 and a low of 71.43. The Indian currency settled higher by 10 paise at 71.30. The domestic unit had settled at 71.40 against the American currency on Friday.

Speaking of currencies, Vijay Bhambwani, editor of Weekly Cash Alerts, tells you the main reasons why not to trade commodities and currencies the same way you would trade equities. Here's an excerpt of what he wrote...

  • Currencies are traded in pairs and the most liquid is the USDINR. Currencies are traded in four decimal points just as bonds are. The international derivative trader's association has indicated that forex may be traded in 6 decimals in the coming few years.

    It takes months sometimes for the currency pair to pass the next round figure, say from 70 to 71.

    Can you really trade commodities and currencies alike or for that matter, equities and currencies alike? Definitely not!

To know more, you can read Vijay's entire article here: Is Trading in Equities, Commodities, and Currencies the Same?

Moving on to the news from the pharma sector. As per an article in a leading financial daily, Cadila Healthcare's topical manufacturing facility located at Ahmedabad, India received an Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) signifying the successful closure of the audit.

The topical manufacturing facility had completed the USFDA audit from 16 December 2019 to 20 December 2019 with zero 483 observations.

Cadila Healthcare share price opened the day down by 0.5%.

In another development, Cipla Medpro South Africa (Pty) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cipla, recently concluded an exclusive agreement securing originator and authorised generic brands of an atypical anti-psychotic drug Quetiapine.

The agreement involves AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, the originator of the medicine, and Luye Pharma Hong Kong, which acquired the assets and rights to the medicine in select territories.

Reportedly, the transaction allows Cipla Medpro to market and distribute the medicine in South Africa and neighbouring countries.

This partnership amplifies Cipla's growing intent to partner with innovator companies.

Cipla share price opened the day up by 0.5%.

Speaking of pharma space in India, co-head of research Tanushree Banerjee talks in great detail about pharma sector in the video below. She tells us where the sector stands now and also about the potential for a rebound.

Watch Now...

To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!

Read the latest Market Commentary


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