Indices drift lower in early trade

Stocks began trading on a negative note on subdued Asian indices. At 9:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 54.07 points or 0.15% at 35,420.44. The Nifty 50 index was down 19 points or 0.18% at 10,637.20.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.47%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.29%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 796 shares rose and 451 shares fell. A total of 54 shares were unchanged.

Overseas, Asian stocks fell after another tumble on Wall Street, where concerns have spread to the corporate-bond market. US stocks closed sharply lower Tuesday, extending a pre-Thanksgiving rout that has been fueled mostly by a selling in shares of technology and internet-related companies. US financial markets will be closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving Day holiday and see an early close Friday.

On the US data front, housing starts came in at a 1.228 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in October, while permits came in at a 1.263 million rate. Year-over-year, growth in housing starts has steadily slowed in 2018.

Back home, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories jumped 7.24% after the company announced favorable outcome in Buprenorphine and Naloxone Sublingual Film patent litigation. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a decision in favor of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Inc., concluding that lndivior had not shown that it is likely to succeed on the merits of its infringement case on US Patent No. 9,931,305. This decision vacates the District Court's preliminary injunction that had prohibited Dr. Reddy's from selling its generic version of Suboxone (buprenorphine and naloxone) sublingual film. As a result of the ruling, Dr. Reddy's will resume its launch activities as soon as permitted. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 20 November 2018.

In June, the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) approved Dr. Reddy's Buprenorphine and Naloxone Sublingual Film, in four strengths including 2 mg/0.5 mg, 4 mg/1 mg, 8 mg/2 mg, and 12 mg/3 mg, for sale in the US market. The product was launched immediately after approval, with sales and commercialization activites halted as a result of a court-imposted temporary restraining order (TRO) against Dr. Reddy's. The TRO did not include a prohibition on commercial manufacturing of the product.

Bank of Baroda rose 1.04% after the company agreed to sell its 4% stake (20,00,000 equity shares) in The Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL) to HDFC Bank as per share purchase agreement executed on 20 November 2018 at Rs 620 per share, aggregating to total consideration of Rs 124 crore. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 20 November 2018.

NBCC (India) rose 0.34%. NBCC (India) said it has submitted the Expression of Interest ('EoI') for submitting resolution plan for Jaypee Infratech (JIL) and the company has been provisionally shortlisted by resolution professional of JIL as prospective resolution applicant. Further information would be provided in due course. JIL is undergoing corporate insolvency resolution process as per the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 20 November 2018.

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