Trading turns range bound

Key barometers were hovering in a narrow range near flat line in mid-morning trade. At 11:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 12.89 points, or 0.04%, at 35,609.25. The Nifty 50 index was down 1.90 points, or 0.02%, at 10,815.80. Gains were capped due to negative global cues. Risk appetite in the global market turned weak after US President Donald Trump cranked up trade tensions by going ahead with tariffs on Chinese imports, prompting Beijing to immediately respond in kind.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.09%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.53%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 831 shares rose and 1,274 shares fell. A total of 111 shares were unchanged.

Most IT shares declined. MphasiS (up 3.42%), Oracle Financial Services Software (up 1.61%), Persistent Systems (up 0.73%), HCL Technologies (up 0.27%) and TCS (up 0.08%), edged higher. Tech Mahindra (down 0.23%), Infosys (down 0.27%), MindTree (down 0.33%), Wipro (down 0.67%) and Hexaware Technologies (down 1.34%), edged lower.

Most pharmaceutical shares rose. Strides Shasun (up 3.79%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (up 1.65%), Alkem Laboratories (up 1.14%), Cadila Healthcare (up 0.75%), IPCA Laboratories (up 0.70%), Piramal Enterprises (up 0.67%), Divi's Laboratories (up 0.45%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 0.29%) and Aurobindo Pharma (up 0.06%), edged higher. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 0.17%), Cipla (down 1.13%) and Wockhardt (down 1.37%), edged lower.

Lupin was down 0.41%. Lupin and Nichi-lko announced that the two companies have entered into an agreement for the distribution, promotion and sale of Lupin's recently-filed biosimilar Etanercept (YL5113) in Japan. Developed by YL Biologics, a joint venture between Lupin's subsidiary Lupin Atlantis Holdings SA (LAHSA) and Yoshindo, the product will be launched by Nichi-lko after receiving approval from the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA). The announcement was made during trading hours today, 18 June 2018.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories was down 0.59%. Vedanta replaced Dr Reddy's Laboratories in the S&P BSE Sensex today, 18 June 2018, as a part of rejig.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories announced that following the launch of its generic Buprenorphine and Naloxone Sublingual Film in the US Market, the US District Court for the District of New Jersey has received and reviewed an emergency application from the plaintiffs in the current patent litigation for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Dr. Reddy's Laboratories. The announcement was made on Saturday, 16 June 2018.

Pending a hearing and decision on the injunction application, the court has issued a temporary restraining order against Dr. Reddy's with respect to further sales and commercialization of Buprenorphine and Naloxone Sublingual Film within the U.S. The court order does not include a prohibition on commercial manufacturing of the product. The plaintiffs will be required to post a bond or other security totaling $18 million (USO) to satisfy any losses or damages incurred by Dr. Reddy's during the period of the temporary restraining order. The court has scheduled an expedited hearing of the preliminary injunction for Thursday, June 28, and a ruling is expected soon thereafter. The proceeding only involves one patent. Dr. Reddy's remains confident in its legal positions on this patent and believes it will prevail on the issues raised with respect to the application for injunction.

Overseas, Asian shares fell as investors digested the escalation in trade tensions between the US and China after both countries announced tariffs last week. Markets in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Indonesia were closed on Monday for holidays.

Trump administration last week said it will impose a 25% tariff on a list of 818 items of Chinese goods worth around $34 billion beginning 6 July. Measures affecting an additional 284 products worth $16 billion will be subject to review before taking effect.

In response, China said a 25% tariff will be implemented on US goods, including soybeans and electric vehicles, worth $34 billion starting 6 July. Another list of US imports worth $16 billion will be subject to review before being applied.

US stocks ended lower on Friday, but well off the lows of the sessions as investors looked past signs of escalating Washington-Beijing trade tensions.

On the data front, the Empire State manufacturing survey rose 4.9 points in June to a reading of 25, the highest reading since October. Separately, manufacturing production declined 0.7% in May, while capacity utilization dropped to 77.9% from 78.1% in the previous month. Further, the University of Michigan's gauge of consumer sentiment rose to 99.3 in June.

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