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Indian Markets Trade on a Negative Note
Wed, 18 Nov 01:30 pm

After opening flat, the Indian Indices have slipped in the red during the post noon trading session. Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note with stocks from IT and metal sectors bearing the maximum brunt. Stocks in the consumer durables sector, however, are trading positively.

The BSE-Sensex is trading lower by 135 (down 0.5%) and the NSE-Nifty is trading down by 31 points (down 0.4%). The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up 0.1% while the BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.2%. Gold prices, per 10 grams, are trading at Rs 25,092 levels. Silver price, per kilogram, is trading at Rs 33,734 levels. Crude oil is trading at Rs 2,716 per barrel. The rupee is trading at 66.15 to the US$.

Stocks in the pharma space are trading on a mixed note with Novartis and Sanofi India witnessing maximum selling pressure. As per an article in Business Standard, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (GSK Pharma) has sharpened focus on its vaccine business with a price cut in its top-selling pneumonia vaccine. Moreover, the company has also lined up two product launches for next year.

Last week, the company cut the price of its pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Synflorix) by 40% to Rs 1,400 per vial. This move was aimed at increasing the product affordability and widens its market share. As regards new product launches, the company has sought regulatory approval to launch two new pediatric vaccines in India.

GSK Pharma's existing vaccines portfolio contributes Rs 3-3.5 billion in revenues. The existing portfolio includes vaccines for influenza, chickenpox and Hepatitis A and B. This is said to be about 20% of the overall revenue of the company The company will now get access to Novartis' vaccine business, especially on rabies and meningitis. GSK Pharma completed the acquisition of Novartis' vaccine business and the sale of its oncology business to the Swiss drug major in a global deal in September. Following the deal, GSK Pharma expanded the vaccine portfolio and absorbed around 120 employees from Novartis to ramp up its sales in India.

Stock of GSK Pharma is currently trading down by 0.4% on the BSE.

Mining stocks are also trading mixed with Hindustan Zinc and MMTC Ltd being the major losers. As per a leading financial daily, Coal India's arm- Western Coalfields- has finalized a capital investment plan of Rs 62.8 billion till 2019-20 in a phased manner. Of the total, the company will be investing Rs 34 billion on land acquisition, while Rs 20 billion will be invested on installation of plant and machinery. The company has also marked another Rs 2 billion for exploration.

Furthermore, the company is going to spend about Rs 8.5 billion on land acquisition during the current fiscal for opening new mines and Rs 3.5 billion on plant and machinery this year.

Coal India is the world's largest coal mining company. The company in its results for the quarter ended September 30, 2015 has reported 16% YoY increase in its net profit at Rs 25 billion. The consolidated net sales of the company registered an increase of 8% YoY at Rs 169 billion. The earnings growth was mainly aided by higher production and better offtake during the period. Coal production for the company during the quarter stood at 108.20 million tonne (MT) as against 102.42 MT reported during the same period last year.

Lastly, eight investment banks have submitted bids to manage the 10% stake divestment in the company. The stake sale is a part of the government's aim to raise Rs 695 billion by March by selling minority stakes in government-owned companies. The stake in Coal India is valued at about US$ 3.2 billion at the current stock price.

Presently the stock of Coal India is trading up by 1.5%.

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