Sensex, Nifty pare gains; IT shares in demand

Domestic equity benchmarks came off early highs in morning trade. At 10:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 274.74 points or 0.75% at 36,828.34. The Nifty 50 index was up 74.85 points or 0.69% at 10,880.40.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.73% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.80%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1394 shares rose and 642 shares fell. A total of 130 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT rose 1.74% to 19,303.45 amid value buying. The index tumbled 4.5% in the past two sessions.

HCL Tech (up 3.56%), TCS (up 3.10%), Coforge (up 2.95%), Info Edge (up 2.16%), MindTree (up 1.60%), Infosys (up 1.40%), and Tech Mahindra (up 1.30%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Cipla rose 3.17% to Rs 756.05. The drug major announced that it has received final approval for its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for Dimethyl Fumarate DR capsules 120mg, 240mg and 120mg/240 mg starter pak from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA). The drug is indicated for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), to include clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting disease, and active secondary progressive disease, in adults.

Tata Consumer Products rose 2.30% to Rs 500. The company is reportedly considering a non-binding bid for the vending machine business of Coffee Day Enterprises. Its board has has approved a proposal to explore an acquisition of the operations and Coffee Day is seeking a valuation of about Rs 2000 crore for the vending machine business, reports added.

Tata Coffee gained 3.19% to Rs 102.05. The company is reportedly in the initial stages of negotiations to acquire 12,000 hectares of coffee plantations that belonged to V G Siddhartha, the founder of CafCoffee Day Enterprises, for a valuation of Rs 1,200-1,500 crore. The plantations are reportedly the second largest in Asia and export 20,000 tonnes of coffee annually, reports said.

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