IT shares in demand

Key benchmarks extended intraday gains and hit fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. At 11:23 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 344.19 points or 0.95% at 36,394.63. The Nifty 50 index was up 88.95 points or 0.80% at 11,158.60.

Key indices opened higher and firmed up further as the session progressed. Optimistic buying activity ahead of the presentation of Economic Survey in the Parliament today, 29 January 2018, and the Union budget on Thursday, 1 February 2018, buoyed the trading sentiment.

The Sensex rose 360.16 points, or 1% at the day's high of 36,410.6 in mid-morning trade, its record high level. The index rose 42.92 points, or 0.12% at the day's low of 36,093.36 in early trade. The Nifty rose 91.35 points, or 0.83% at the day's high of 11,161 in mid-morning trade, its record high level. The index rose 6.30 points, or 0.06% at the day's low of 11,075.95 in early trade.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.07%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.06%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1,309 shares rose and 1,212 shares fell. A total of 145 shares were unchanged.

IT shares were in demand. MphasiS (up 8.75%), TCS (up 3.10%), MindTree (up 1.86%), Infosys (up 1.77%), HCL Technologies (up 1.22%), Hexaware Technologies (up 0.91%), Wipro (up 0.53%), Tech Mahindra (up 0.37%), Oracle Financial Services Software (up 0.26%) and Persistent Systems (up 0.18%), edged higher.

Pharmaceutical shares were mixed. Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 4.43%), Divi's Laboratories (down 3.21%), Lupin (down 1.94%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.6%), Alkem Laboratories (down 0.46%), Aurobindo Pharma (down 0.27%) and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 0.17%), edged lower. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 0.48%), Wockhardt (up 0.68%), Piramal Enterprises (up 1.01%), IPCA Laboratories (up 1.05%), Cadila Healthcare (up 1.39%) and Strides Shasun (up 1.71%), edged higher.

Drug major Cipla was down 0.04%. The company's announced that it has received final approval for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate Tablets, 300mg, from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market a generic version of Gilead Sciences' Viread Tablets, 300mg.

Cipla's Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate Tablets, 300mg, are AB-rated generic equivalents of Gilead Sciences' Viread Tablets, 300mg, and are indicated in combination with other antiretroviral (ARV) agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults and paediatric patients 12 years of age and older. Cipla is excited to add this important antiretroviral product to its growing portfolio of ARVs in the US.

The product will be available for commercial shipment in the US immediately. Viread Tablets, 300mg, had US sales of approximately $72S million for the 12-month period ending November 2017, as reported by IMS Health. The announcement was made before market hours today, 29 January 2018.

Divi's Laboratories was down 2.50%. The company's net profit fell 16.3% to Rs 224.66 crore on 6.3% rise in net sales to Rs 1037.88 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The announcement was made on Saturday, 27 January 2018.

Avenue Supermarts surged 5.15% after net profit surged 65.8% to Rs 251.76 crore on 22.6% rise in net sales to Rs 4094.82 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The result was announced after market hours on Thursday, 25 January 2018.

Shares of Newgen Software Technologies were trading at Rs 257 at 11:17 IST on BSE, a premium of 4.90% over the initial offer issue price of Rs 245 per share, on its debut on the bourses today, 29 January 2018. Shares of Newgen Software Technologies were listed on the bourses at Rs 253, a premium of 3.27% over the IPO issue price of Rs 245. The stock had hit a high of Rs 266.50 and low of Rs 250.25 so far during the day. So far, 15.87 lakh shares were traded on the counter.

On the macro front, the total revenue received under Goods and Services Tax (GST) for the month of December 2017 (received in December/January up to 24 January 2018) has been Rs 86703 crore till 24 January 2018. The last date for filing of GSTR 3B return for the month of December 2017 was 22 January 2018, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on 25 January 2018.

The next major trigger for the market is Union Budget 2018-2019, which will be presented by the finance minister Arun Jaitley in the parliament on Thursday, 1 February 2018.

President Ram Nath Kovind will address the joint sitting of the two Houses today, 29 January 2018, and the Economic Survey will be tabled on the same day. The first phase of the budget session of the parliament will be held from 29 January 2018 to 9 February 2018. After a recess, Parliament will meet again from 5 March 2018 to 6 April 2018, as per reports.

Overseas, Asian shares were mixed after several stocks gave up gains from upbeat openings that tracked Friday's rally on Wall Street. US stocks surged on Friday, 26 January 2018. A reading of fourth-quarter gross domestic product came in slightly softer than expected but was viewed by investors as healthy enough to perceive that the economy is on firm footing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.85%. The S&P 500 index climbed 1.18%. The Nasdaq Composite Index surged 1.28%.

US gross domestic product (GDP) for the fourth quarter rose 2.6% as consumption and business activity picked up.

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