 "National Stock Exchange")
Markets edged higher in late trades on Thursday after European shares extended gains after voting started in a historic referendum whether Britain should remain as the member of the European or not.
At 2:40pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 212 points at 26,978 and the Nifty50 was up 56 points at 8,260.
ITC was the top gainer amid shortcovering up 1.7% followed by HDFC Bank, Tata Motors and Infosys among others.
Pharma shares also extended gains with Lupin, Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy's Labs up 2% each.
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Updated at 12:55pm)
Markets turned marginally positive in noon trades, amid firm European cues, with pharma shares leading the gains.
Meanwhile, voting in the UK started in a referendum with opinion polls indicating a thin margin between those who want to remain in the European Union and those who want to leave.
At 12:55m, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 63 points at 26,829 and the Nifty50 was up 15 points at 8,218.
European shares edged higher in early trades as voting to the UK referendum on whether to remain as a member of the European Union or not. The CAC, DAX and FTSE were up 0.6%-0.7% each.
The Indian rupee appreciated against the US dollar tracking gains in equities and was trading 12 paise higher at Rs 67.36 to the US dollar compared to the previous close.
STOCKS
Lupin was up 1.4% after it received final approval from the USFDA for Amabelz tablets (Estradiol and Norethindrone Acetate Tablets USP, 0.5mg/0.1mg and 1mg/0.5mg) to market a generic version of Amneal Pharmaceuticals' Activella tablets.
Sun Pharma gained 2% after the company said its board will hold a meeting on later today for evaluating a proposal of Buy Back of Equity Shares of the Company. Among others, Dr Reddy's Labs was up 1.5%.
Tata Motors was up 1.7% on short covering after losses in the previous session on concerns that profitability of its UK-based JLR would be sharply impacted in case of Brexit.
ITC which had corrected in the previous session was up 1.2%. The FMCG major's longest serving chairman, YC Deveshwar decided to step down from executive role from February 2017, after which he will stay on as Non-Executive Chairman. Its peer HUL was up 0.5%
Lupin was up nearly 2% after it received final approval from the USFDA for Amabelz tablets (Estradiol and Norethindrone Acetate Tablets USP, 0.5mg/0.1mg and 1mg/0.5mg) to market a generic version of Amneal Pharmaceuticals' Activella tablets.
Sun Pharma was up 1% as its board will hold a meeting on June 23, 2016 for evaluating a proposal of Buy Back of Equity Shares of the Company. Among other pharma shares, Dr Reddy's Labs was up 1.6%.
GAIL India was marginally up after it was awarded Rs 550 crore worth of contracts for laying part of 'Urga Ganga' gas pipeline from Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh (UP) to Haldia in West Bengal (WB).
Among others, YES Bank has moved higher to its record high of Rs 1,092 on the BSE in an otherwise subdued market after Nomura maintained ‘buy’ rating on the stock with revised target price of Rs 1,300 from Rs 1,125.
Shares of Thomas Cook (India) extended gains for the second straight session up nearly 6% at Rs 218 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company said its subsidiary Quess Corp is planning to raise Rs 400 crore through an initial public offer (IPO).
