Focus on pharma IPOs next week

Next week, the Dalal Street will see initial public offerings (IPOs) of two health care companies, which will raise Rs 2,000 crore. Sources say Alkem Laboratories' Rs 1,350-crore IPO and Dr Lal PathLabs' Rs 633-crore IPO will open from December 7 to 9. Though shares of health care companies have taken a hit in recent times, the BSE Healthcare index has outperformed the benchmark Sensex this calendar year by 18 percentage points.

Confusion amid traders

It's a difficult time for traders who want to go short or long on the market and catch a 500-point move. According to sectoral people, there were expectations among short-sellers that if the Nifty fell below 7,700 points, there would be a 500-point drop to 7,200. But the 50-share index fell to 7,540 points in September and turned upwards. Similarly, for traders wanting to go long, there were talks that if the Nifty were to cross 7,900, it would cross 8,400 points. However, it went to 8,336 in October and fell to 7,714 points a fortnight ago, and has now risen to almost 8,000 points. As a result, many traders are taking small positions for quite some time now, says a market expert.

Debt-heavy firms delay FY15 annual reports

Despite eight months into the new financial year, nearly 84 companies from the BSE 500 index are yet to come out with their 2014-15 annual reports. Typically, companies with their year ending in March file their annual reports and conclude their annual general meetings by September 30. Companies that are yet to come out with their annual reports include mostly debt-laden companies such as Jaiprakash Associates and MTNL. Companies have to provide reasons to the exchanges if there is a delay of over 60 days in filing their annual reports.