A weak day of trading...

Thu, 26 Feb Closing

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The Indian markets languished in the red throughout the trading session today on the back of persistent selling pressure across index heavyweights. There was no respite in the final trading hour either and the indices closed well below the dotted line. The BSE-Sensex closed lower by about 261 points, while the NSE-Nifty ended lower by about 83 points. Losses were largely seen in banking, auto and pharma stocks. The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index were not spared either and closed lower by around 1% each.

Asian stocks ended the day on a mixed note, while stocks in Europe were also trading mixed. The rupee was trading at Rs 61.77 to the dollar at the time of writing.

Pharma stocks closed weak today with the key losers being Sun Pharma, Cipla and Glenmark Pharma. As per a leading business daily, Glenmark has received USFDA approval for launching Trandolapril & Verapamil Hydrochloride (HCl) Extended Release Tablets. This is the generic version of AbbVie Inc's patented drug TARKA. The drug is indicated for the treatment of hypertension. According to IMS Health, the annual sales of the drug stood at US$ 23.5 m for the twelve months ended December 2014. It must be noted that Glenmark's revenues from the US business had slowed down this fiscal and the main reason for this has been the lack of product approvals. Currently, the company has 95 products which are distributed in the US market and it has 74 ANDAs pending approval with the USFDA. Thus, the revenue visibility is there and depends on how fast it gets approvals for these from the US regulator.

Paint stocks also closed in the red today with the key losers being Asian Paints, Berger Paints and Kansai Nerolac. As per a leading business daily, Asian Paints is looking to set up an integrated paints manufacturing plant in either Karnataka or Andhra Pradesh. Reportedly, the company is in negotiations with the respective state governments and the location will be decided based on the availability of land, regulatory approvals and other factors. The rationale behind the move is to cater to the demand in the southern and eastern parts of the country. The approximate investment for setting up the plant with capacity of 6 lakh kilolitre per annum has been pegged at Rs 23 bn over a period of 5 to 7 years.