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Sensex Trades Rangebound; Metal, Pharma Stocks Top Losers
Mon, 18 Jun 12:30 pm

After opening the day flat share markets in India are trading on a dull note and are presently trading below the dotted line. Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note, with stocks in the metal sector and stocks in the pharma sector witnessing maximum selling pressure.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 25 points (down 0.1%) and the NSE Nifty is trading down by 5 points (down 0.1%). Meanwhile, the BSE Mid Cap index is trading down by 0.1%, while the BSE Small Cap index is trading down by 0.6%. The rupee is trading at 68.01 to the US$.

In news from stocks in the auto sector. Tata Motors share price and Tata Power share price are in focus today, after the companies chalked out a plan to install over 100 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Maharashtra.

Tata Power said it has partnered with Tata to make Maharashtra EV ready and to establish electric vehicle charging stations in the state for public use.

The installations are part of the MOU signed by Tata Motors with the Maharashtra Government last month for deployment of 1,000 Electric Vehicles (EV) across its range of passenger and commercial vehicles in the State and setting up of EV charging stations by Tata Power.

Tata Power was the first to establish the EV charging station at Vikhroli in Mumbai in August 2017 and later installed two more in January 2018.

It recently announced expansion of its EV charging network in Mumbai with the launch of nine new EV charging stations.

This development will no doubt help with EV adoption over time.

Is India Prepared to Meet the Ambitious Battery Car Target?

Currently, electric vehicle sales are low in India, rising 37.5% to 22,000 units in the year ended 31 March 2016 from 16,000 in 2014-15. Only 2,000 of these were cars and other four-wheelers, according to automobile lobby group Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam).

The government wants to see 6 million electric and hybrid vehicles on Indian roads by 2020 under the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020.

The government is targeting to have all cars propelled by electric engine by 2030. The target is more daunting than in many advanced countries.

According to the industry, the 2030 target would require eight to ten times the global stock of such vehicles. India would need to sell more than 10 million electric cars in 2030, compared to 5,000 electric vehicles India had on the road in 2016.

As you can see from the chart above, India is barely visible compared to other developed countries when it comes to battery cars.

As an article in Business Standard suggests, such a big jump in scale for the auto industry in 13 years seems difficult. The basic infrastructure is missing. There are not enough charging stations. For this massive shift, the charging stations will need to be as ubiquitous as petrol pumps.

Another issue is the price of the lithium ion battery, which constitutes 30% to 40% of the cost of the car. For this plan to succeed, the price of the battery needs to come down.

The auto industry is already facing regulatory headwinds. The shift from BS-IV emission norms to BS-VI has been two years ahead of schedule without an intermediate stage. The government, if it is serious about such ambitious targets, should offer the necessary infrastructure support and do its bit for a smooth transition.

At the time of writing, Tata Motors share price was trading up by 1.5%, while Tata Power share price was trading down by 1%.

Moving on to news from stocks in the pharma sector. Lupin share price is in focus today after the pharma major entered into a strategic partnership.

Lupin, and Japan based Nichi-Iko have tied up for the distribution, promotion and sale of Lupin's recently-filed biosimilar Etanercept in Japan.

The biosimilar which was developed by a joint venture of a Lupin subsidiary and Yoshindo will be launched by Nichi-Iko after receiving approval from the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) - the Japanese drug regulator.

Etanercept is a drug that is used in the treatment of several auto immune diseases including rheumatoidarthritis, plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and autoimmune disease.

The ex-US market for Etanercept is estimated at US$4 billion in Japan and Europe, along with other regulated and emerging markets.

Further, Lupin said its Japanese subsidiary Kyowa had submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to Japanese regulatory authorities in March this year following the successful conclusion of its global Phase III study.

At the time of writing, Lupin share price was trading down by 1.7%.

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