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Indices put up a strong show...
Fri, 13 Feb Closing

The Indian markets opened the day's proceedings on a firm note. While the early hours saw the indices trade within a range, buying momentum intensified thereafter across index heavyweights. This buoyancy continued in the final trading hour as well and the indices closed well above the dotted line. The BSE-Sensex closed higher by about 290 points, while the NSE-Nifty ended higher by about 94 points. Gains were largely seen in banking, auto and FMCG stocks. The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index also did well and notched gains of about 0.7% and 0.4% respectively.

Asian stocks ended the day on a mixed note, while most stocks in Europe were trading firm. The rupee was trading at Rs 62.19 to the dollar at the time of writing.

Pharma stocks closed firm today with the key gainers being Biocon, Cadila Healthcare and Glenmark Pharma. Ipca<> announced results for the third quarter and nine months ended December 2014. The company's revenues grew by 6.5% YoY largely due to the 14% YoY growth in domestic sales. The performance of exports continued to remain muted as sales were down 6% YoY. This was attributed to challenges in scaling up supplies, lower tender uptake and change in the business model to make it more front end. Operating profits, however, grew at a faster pace of 18.5% YoY led by continuous focus on cost management. Net profits, in the meanwhile, grew by 15% YoY during the quarter. For the nine month period, the company had made 33 product filings in Europe and 10 filings for North America. The stock closed firm today.

Auto ancillary stocks closed mixed today. While Amtek Auto, Amara Raja Batteries and Bharat Forge found favour, Bosch Ltd and Exide Industries closed in the red. Bosch Ltd announced results for the fourth quarter ended December 2014. The company reported a 14% YoY increase in revenues for the quarter led by the gradual ramp up in auto volumes leading to better performance of its diesel and gasoline business divisions. Operating margins, however, were under pressure as they declined by 0.6% to 9.3%. As a result of this, operating profits grew at a slower pace of 7% YoY. Net profits declined by 20% YoY during the quarter largely on account of higher tax expenses and an extraordinary expense to the tune of Rs 280 m. The latter represented one time charges in retirement benefits consequent to wage settlement during the period. Excluding the impact of extraordinary items, growth in net profits was flat.

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