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Sensex Trades Marginally Higher; ONGC & Bharti Airtel Top Gainers
Tue, 19 Mar 12:30 pm

Share markets in India are presently trading marginally higher. Sectoral indices are trading mixed with stocks in the telecom sector and power sector witnessing buying interest while capital goods stocks and automobile stock are witnessing selling pressure.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 72 points while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 19 points. The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.5% while the BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.4%.

The rupee is trading at Rs 68.59 against the US$.

In the news from the pharma sector, Dr. Reddy's share price is in focus today as the company has launched B2B customer service portal 'XCEED' to increase the operational efficiency.

Reportedly, the portal is focused on meeting the growing demand for the company's portfolio of generic active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).

The platform will be presented for the first time to customers in New York from March 18 to 21, 2019 and will be available to API customers across the globe during the next week.

Note that last month, shares of the company witnessed selling pressure on reports that the company's formulations manufacturing plant 3 at Bachupally, Hyderabad had been inspected by the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA).

Reportedly, it was issued a Form 483 with 11 observations, out of which four are repeat observations. The observations are around lack of thorough investigations, written records lacking details, employees not being trained and lack of infra.

Shares of the company fell nearly 30% on back of the above news.

To know more about the company, you can read Dr Reddy's latest Result Analysis on our website.

In another news, Alembic Pharma has raised Rs 1.5 billion through Redeemable Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) of Rs 10 lakh per NCD under Tranche III.

The NCD Committee of the company at its meeting held on March 19, 2019 has allotted the same.

Dr Reddy's share price & Alembic Pharma share price are presently trading up by 1.6% & 0.4% respectively.

Speaking of pharma sector, note that the BSE Healthcare Index has been on a roller coaster ride in the past few years. The period from 2012 to 2015 saw the index go up more than three times.

We believe that pharma companies that invest in creating a pipeline of complex generics or building competencies in alternative dosage forms are better equipped to tackle the changing dynamics in the US generics market as well as in the overall industry.

Moving on to the news from the global economy, Asian share markets are steady ahead of the US Federal Reserve policy meeting.

All three major US indexes rose overnight, lifted by banking and tech companies, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq Composite adding between 0.3 and 0.4% each.

The pound slipped to as low as US$1.318 overnight as lawmakers cast doubt on Prime Minister Theresa May's third attempt to get parliament to back her Brexit deal.

Theresa May's Brexit plans were thrown into further turmoil on Monday when the speaker of parliament ruled that she could not put her divorce deal to a new vote unless it was re-submitted in fundamentally different form.

With signs of global economic growth slowing, investors will keep watch on the Federal Reserve, which is kicking off its two-day policy meeting later today, for clues about the likely path of US borrowing costs.

Reportedly, more detail on a plan to stop cutting the Fed's holdings of nearly US$3.8 trillion in bonds is also expected.

Speaking of Fed rate policy, how has the Fed rate hike impacted Indian stock markets in the past?

The past decade has seen Fed rates at historical lows, but it wasn't always the case.

The period from 2003-2006 saw Fed rates increase from 1% to 5.25%.

How did the Indian stock market fare during this time?

Do US Interest Rate Hikes Impact Indian Markets?

Well, if you are a long-term investor, you have nothing to worry about.

The Sensex went up by almost 3 times from 3,500 to more than 10,000 during the same period.

The rise was supported by strong earnings growth during the same period.

It further emphasizes the importance of fundamentals in the long run.

Look out for quality stocks with a history of strong earnings growth and sound fundamentals.

The noise surrounding the decisions of the US Fed might just present the right opportunity for you to buy safe stocks.

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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