Ranbaxy Climbs A Bit

The Instanex Skindia DR Index (ISDI), which tracks 15 actively traded Indian depository receipts, shed around 1 per cent at 481.71 on Thursday in early trades in London. Global depository receipts (GDRs) of Ranbaxy Laboratories edged up 0.29 per cent to $13.69. Among the others, 5 lost ground and 56 remained unchanged.

The GDR of State Bank of India shed 4.78 per cent to $13.35, Gujarat Ambuja fell 2.24 per cent to $3.06) and Reliance Industries eased 1.84 per cent to $11.74 in early trades. On Wednesday, ISDI dropped 1.46 per cent to close at 481.68. While the ISDI P/E ratio also fell by 1.46 per cent to 10.22.

Meanwhile, Indian securities listed on the US exchanges mostly declined on Wednesday. But Internet stocks Sify, the Satyam Infoway ADR, and Redf, the Rediff.com ADR made good headway. Infy, the Infosys Tech ADR, climbed modestly by 67 cents to $57.47. Tech leaders Wit, the Wipro ADR, shed 36 cents to $27.69 and Say, the Satyam Computer ADR dropped 12 cents to $9.44), moved lower.

While the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed a 28.01-point rise to 7552.07. The Nasdaq composite inched up 7.77 points to 1279.24 and the S&P 500 index edged up 3.46 points to 804.19.

Elsewhere key Asia ends lower after much volatility. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average broke above the 8,000-point mark at one juncture, but finished 0.94 per cent lower at 7868.56, just six points above the 20-year closing low set on Tuesday.

The broader Topix index lost 0.49 per cent to 778.52. In Taiwan, the Taiex put on 1.17 per cent to 4378.99 While Hong Kong and Singapore were both significantly lower near close.