Market turns range bound; breadth weak

The market hovered in a narrow range in afternoon trade. Trading was volatile due to monthly expiry of the February series of derivatives contracts. The Nifty continued hovering below its 200-day simple moving average placed at 11,685.62. The undertone of the market was weak as investors were concerned that the global economy could slow down as China struggles to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

At 14:35 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 199.25 points or 0.5% at 39,689.71. The Nifty 50 index tumbled 70.30 points or 0.6% at 11,608.20.

The broader market was weak. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.76% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.96%.

There were more sellers than buyers. On the BSE, 698 shares rose and 1641 shares fell. A total of 143 shares were unchanged.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories slipped 1.09% to Rs 3042. The drug maker announced the first-to-market launch of Naproxen and Esomeprazole Magnesium delayed-release tablets, a therapeutic equivalent generic version of Vimovo (Naproxen and Esomeprazole Magnesium) delayed-release tablets approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). The Vimovo brand had US sales of approximately $414 million MAT for the most recent twelve months ending in December 2019 according to IQVIA Health.

In a separate announcement on Thursday, the drug maker announced that the USFDA completed the audit of Integrated Product Development Organization (IPDO) at Medchal-Malkajgiri, Telangana. No Form 483 was issued at the closure of inspection, the company said.

GOCL Corporation tumbled 5% to Rs 248. The company on Thursday said that there was an accident on 26 February 2020 in one of its production shops at the factory at Kukatpally in Hyderabad. The accident damaged some equipment in the particular section of the factory. It resulted in the unfortunate death of a workman and injuries to two others. The company clarified that there would be no disruption in the operations of the factory. All the assets of the factory are fully insured.

Alphageo (India) surged 16.71% to Rs 231.20. The provider of seismic services provider said it secured a Rs 184 crore contract from Vedanta for 2D and 3D seismic data acquisition services in Assam.

Numbers to Track:

MCX Gold futures for 3 April 2020 settlement rose 0.37% to Rs 42660.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee appreciated against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was trading at 71.635, compared with its previous closing low of 71.65.

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.372% at 14:18 IST compared with 6.346% in the previous trading session.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2020 settlement was down 65 cents to $52.78 a barrel. The contract fell $1.52 or 2.77% to settle at $53.43 a barrel in the previous trading session.

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