Indices trade with small gains

Key benchmark indices continued to trade with small gains in afternoon trade. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 59.44 points or 0.17% at 34,070.05. The Nifty 50 index was up 6.65 points or 0.06% at 10,537.95. Firmness in most Asian stocks supported gains on the domestic bourses.

A divergent trend was seen on the bourses in early trade as the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, traded with small gains while the Nifty 50 index traded with marginal losses. The Sensex and the Nifty, both, scaled record high in morning trade after extending initial gains. Indices traded with small gains later during the session.

Among secondary indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.33%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.4%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,464 shares rose and 1,152 shares fell. A total of 168 shares were unchanged.

Auto stocks traded mixed. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (up 0.9%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.15%), Eicher Motors (up 0.15%), and Tata Motors (up 0.51%) gained. Ashok Leyland (down 0.59%), Bajaj Auto (down 0.23%), TVS Motor Company (down 0.31%), and Hero MotoCorp (down 0.31%) declined.

Cement stocks were also mixed. ACC (down 0.05%), Ambuja Cements (down 0.29%), and UltraTech Cement (down 0.6%) declined. Shree Cement gained 1.15%.

Grasim Industries rose 0.12%. Grasim has exposure to the cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.

Aurobindo Pharma rose 1.91% after the company announced that it has received final approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Fondaparinux Sodium injection, 2.5 mg/0.5 mL, 5 mg/0.4 mL, 7.5 mg/0.6 mL, and 10 mg/0.8 mL single-dose prefilled syringes.

The approved abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) is a bioequivalent and therapeutically equivalent to the reference listed drug (RLD) product Arixtra Injection of Mylan Ireland. The product will be launched in January 2018. Fondaparinux Sodium injection is used to prevent deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The approved product had an estimated market size of $73 million in US for the twelve months ended October 2017 according to IMS. The announcement was made during market hours today, 27 December 2017.

Overseas, most Asian markets gained in trading thinned by a holiday-shortened week with oil and copper prices rocketing to multi-year highs in an uplifting sign for global growth and inflation. China's industrial-profit growth slowed sharply in November, due to slower growth in prices for industrial goods and higher production costs. China's industrial profits in November rose 14.9% compared with the same period a year ago, decelerating from a 25.1% increase in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said today, 27 December 2017.

US stocks closed lower in light volume trade yesterday, 26 December 2017 as shares of Apple tumbled, offsetting gains in energy stocks as oil prices hit their highest in more than two years. European markets were closed yesterday, 26 December 2017 in observance of Boxing Day.

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