Markets trade firm led by heavyweights; ITC, ICICI Bank up 3%

Markets continued to trade firm led by index heavyweights ITC and ICICI Bank

Markets came off their intra-day highs but continued to trade firm in late noon deals led by index heavyweights.

At 2pm, the the S&P BSE Sensex was up 250 points at 27,524 and the Nifty50 was up 88 points at 8,521.

Gains were led by index heavyweights ITC and ICICI Bank which gained over 3%.

Lupin was up over 7% after the pharma major said that it has received Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the US health regulator for its Goa plant leading to closure of all outstanding inspections of the facility.

Among others, Nilkamal dipped over 5% after the company's net profit was flat at Rs 26.33 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 (Q2FY17), due to lower volume growth. The plastic products maker had posted a profit of Rs 26.12 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

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(Updated at 12:15pm)
Benchmark share indices continued to hold on to their gains in noon trade on Monday with Lupin emerging as the top gainer following the USFDA clearance for it Goa unit.

At 12:15pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 209 points at 27,483 and the Nifty50 was up 76 points at 8,506. In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 1.3%-1.6% each. Market breadth was strong with 2006 gainers and 596 losers on the BSE.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in equities worth Rs 343 crore on Friday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

Stocks

Lupin was up over 7% after the pharma major said that it has received Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the US health regulator for its Goa plant leading to closure of all outstanding inspections of the facility.

Among other pharma shares, Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy's Labs were up over 1.7% each. In the broader markets, Glenmark Pharma, Aurobindo Pharma, Neuland Labs, Dishman Pharma, were up over 4% each.

PNB was up over 5% post the listing of its housing finance arm.

PNB Housing Finance listed at Rs 863 on the BSE, an 11% premium over its issue price of Rs 775 per share. PNB Housing Finance, promoted by Punjab National Bank (PNB), raised Rs 3,000 crore through initial public offer (IPO). The issue was oversubscribed 29.55 times at a price band of Rs 750-775 per share.

ICICI Bank was up 1.7% ahead of its second quarter earnings due for release today.

ITC extended gains and was up over 2.5% after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council's propose to place tobacco products in the 28% tax slab and an additional cess. The current rate of taxation on cigarettes is around 64% and 81% on chewing tobacco.

Among others, shares of Dalmia Bharat Group companies OCL India and Dalmia Bharat were trading higher by up to 7% on BSE in after their respective boards approved the merger of the two firms in an effort to simplify the group structure.