Market breadth turns negative

A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices declined after hitting a fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. At 11:16 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 12.19 points or 0.05% at 26,866.05. The Nifty 50 index was currently down 10 points or 0.12% at 8,263.80. The Sensex slipped after hitting the psychologically important 27,000 mark in mid-morning trade.

The Sensex and the Nifty, both, declined after hitting their highest intraday level in almost two months in mid-morning trade. The Sensex rose 131.37 points, or 0.49% at the day's high of 27,009.61 in mid-morning trade, its highest level since 11 November 2016. The index fell 29.87 points, or 0.11% at the day's low of 26,848.37 in mid-morning trade. The Nifty rose 33.05 points, or 0.40% at the day's high of 8,306.85 in mid-morning trade, its highest level since 11 November 2016. The index fell 14.40 points, or 0.17% at the day's low of 8,259.40 in mid-morning trade.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.05%, outperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently down 0.15%. The decline in this index was higher than the Sensex's decline in percentage terms.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative from positive. On BSE, 1,080 shares fell and 1,218 shares rose. A total of 148 shares were unchanged.

Most pharmaceutical shares edged higher. Cadila Healthcare (up 1.97%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 1.19%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 0.35%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 0.32%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (up 0.24%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 0.23%), IPCA Laboratories (up 0.21%) and Alkem Laboratories (up 0.19%), edged higher. Lupin (down 0.07%), Cipla (down 0.08%), Divi's Laboratories (down 0.62%) and Strides Shasun (down 1.12%), edged lower.

Drug maker Wockhardt was up 6.52% after the company said that competent authority, Berlin, Germany has issued EU good manufacturing practices (GMP) certificate confirming that company's manufacturing facility at 138, GIDC Estate, Ankaleshwar, Gujarat, complies with the principles and guidelines of good manufacturing practices. The certificate issued in this regard is valid for 3 years. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 5 January 2017.

Piramal Enterprises rose 2.15% after the company announced plans to enter the retail housing finance market by incorporating a housing finance company as its subsidiary. The announcement was made before market hours today, 6 January 2017.

At a board meeting held yesterday, 5 January 2017, Piramal Enterprises announced plans to enter the retail housing finance market. The company's board of directors has given its approval for Piramal Finance (PFL) to make an application to the National Housing Bank (NHB) for incorporating a housing finance company (HFC) as its subsidiary. The company's wholly owned subsidiary, PFL is in the business of providing financial services.

PFL already has a long standing presence in wholesale finance, catering to the entire spectrum of financing needs across real estate (both residential and commercial) as well as non-real estate (operating infrastructure and other sectors) sectors with a current overall loan book extending to Rs 19170 crore. Individual housing loans are both a diversification strategy as well as a natural extension of its business, completing its suite of products with an offering for the retail customer segment, Piramal Enterprises said.

Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Enterprises said that after having successfully scaled up presence in wholesale finance through Piramal Finance, the company believes that it has established a blueprint for growth within the real estate asset class. Therefore, the company feels that the timing is opportune for it to make a foray into retail housing finance, Piramal said.

Power generation stocks were mixed. JSW Energy (up 5.68%), Reliance Power (up 0.58%), NTPC (up 0.52%), Tata Power (up 0.52%), Reliance Infrastructure (up 0.36%) and Adani Power (up 0.15%), edged higher. NHPC (down 0.18%), CESC (down 0.57%), GMR Infrastructure (down 0.86%), Torrent Power (down 0.91%) and Jaiprakash Power Ventures (down 3.02%), edged lower.

State-run Coal India was up 0.52% to Rs 309.75. State-run Power Grid Corporation of India was up 0.37% to Rs 191.50.

GM Breweries dropped 2.9% after net profit fell 36.41% to Rs 9.90 crore on 4.96% rise in total income to Rs 97.55 crore in Q3 December 2016 over Q3 December 2015. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 5 January 2017.

Overseas, most Asian stocks were trading higher today, 6 January 2017. China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.32%. Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 0.35%. In US, the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed at a record yesterday, 5 January 2017, as the broader stock market finished lower, dragged down by a steep slide in the financial sector and major retailers. Mixed data on jobs also raised concerns a day before the closely watched December employment report due today, 6 January 2017.

In US, the private sector added 153,000 jobs in December, according to ADP, a rate that was below forecasts, while first-time jobless claims fell 28,000 in the latest week, dropping to a nearly 43-year low. Separately, a reading on the US services sector held steady at a 12-month high in December, suggesting growth in non-manufacturing activity, mainly the service sector, remains strong.

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