Shares bounce back; auto stocks in demand

The Sensex and the Nifty bounced back in mid-morning trade. Auto stocks were in demand after auto body FADA moved apex court on BS IV vehicle sales. At 11:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 44.8 points or 0.11% at 41,603.37. The Nifty 50 index was up 9.95 points or 0.08% at 12,231.60.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.2% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.21%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1043 shares rose and 919 shares fell. A total of 140 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 27 stocks advanced while 23 stocks declined.

Buzzing Index:

Auto stocks gained after the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) India on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court seeking directions to allow dealers to sell and register Bharat Stage IV, or BS IV-compliant vehicles, even after the more stringent BS-VI norms come into effect on 1 April.

The Nifty Auto index was up 1.16% at 8,175.75, rising for the third straight session.

JBM Auto (up 5.74%), TVS Motors Company (up 2.48%), Mahindra and Mahindra (up 2.41%), Hero MotoCorp (up 2.37%), Eicher Motors (up2.31%), Tata Motors (up 1.35%), SML Isuzu (up 0.65%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.6%), Ashok Leyland (up 0.38%) and Bajaj Auto (up 0.3%) were top gainers in auto segment.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company (SPARC) rose 2.71% to Rs 167 after the company has acquired Paris- based Bioprojet's rights for SCD-044 product. SPARC and Bioprojet co-owned all SCD-044 related IP, developed through a research collaboration targeting Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptors (S1PR) to treat various autoimmune disorders. The acquisition includes full assignment of all patents and patent applications owned or controlled by Bioprojet related to SCD-044.

JSW Energy was trading 0.21% higher at Rs 70.05. Credit rating agency CARE Ratings placed the ratings of the company's commercial paper on 'Credit watch with negative implications' on account of recent announcement of proposed acquisition of thermal power assets of GMR Kamalanga Energy. CARE in light of the above events is engaging with management to understand its implications on overall financial risk profile of the company and its group/associate companies.

Panacea Biotec jumped 5.19% after the pharmaceutical company received awards worth over Rs 170 crore from UNICEF and Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) for the supply of its 'Easyfive-TT', a fully liquid WHO pre-qualified wP based pentavalent vaccine. The vaccine, Easyfive-TT was introduced in the year 2005, by Panacea Biotec as the world's first fully liquid wP-based pentavalent vaccine in Indian market.

Foreign Markets:

Most Asian markets were trading lower on Thursday as investors remained on the sidelines amid lack of fresh catalysts after the year's big run-up. Investors are also keeping an eye on impeachment proceedings in the US.

In US, stocks extended winning streak on Wednesday with the boost in sentiment from a preliminary US-China trade. Investors remained largely unfazed by impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump led by House Democrats.

The United States House of Representatives on Wednesday voted largely along party lines to impeach President Donald Trump for obstruction of Congress and abuse of power related to his dealings with Ukraine. Trump is only the third president in US history to be impeached by the full House.

The trial on removing Trump from office will now move to the Senate. Republicans hold a solid majority and are expected to exonerate him in the Senate.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News