Nifty holds 8700; Hindalco falls 4%, telecom stocks rally

Moneycontrol Bureau

12:55pm Interview: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has carried out inspection at two units of Shilpa Medicare at Raichur, MD Vishnukant Bhutada told CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

“The outcome will be known in three-six months,” he said, adding that the company was focused on both the formulations and API business, with oncology being one of its key focus.

Shilpa has filed 10 abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) in both injectables and oral division, he said.

“Once we get approvals, we could start with the US business by 2016 end,” he said.

12:25pm Asian Paints in Focus: Asian Paints has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Andhra Pradesh for setting up a manufacturing facility for paints and intermediates at Pudi Village, Rambilli Mandal, Vishakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh.

An amount of approximately Rs 1750 crore would be invested by the company in phases over a period of 12 years from the date of commencement of construction, including the cost of land admeasuring approximately 110 acres, subject to due diligence and obtaining necessary regulatory and other approvals, says the country's largest paint company.

The maximum capacity of the said manufacturing facility would be 4 lakh kiloliters per annum, which would be achieved in phases, it adds.

12:00pm Market Check

The market remained in a consolidation mode. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 50.12 points to 28659.75 and the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 13.80 points to 8698.25.

The broader markets too fell marginally. About 1052 shares have advanced, 1387 shares declined, and 188 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The Indian rupee slipped to a fresh 2-month low following a steep rise in the dollar. The greenback surged to 12-year highs holding strong above 98.7 level.

Hindalco Industries topped the selling list on Sensex, down 4 percent as Kumar Mangalam Birla is named in the coal allocation scam case. A Special Court has summoned him along with former PM Manmohan Singh & former coal secretary PC Parakh. They will have to appear in the court on April 8.

Telecom stocks continued to be in focus as the spectrum auction entered day 7. Experts say the auctions are likely to end in a day or two. However, industry body, COAI sees a significant hit on telecom companies’ balancesheet due to aggressive bidding. Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications rallied 2-4 percent.

CESC climbed 2 percent as the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission approved a multi-year tariff plan of Rs 6.98 per unit. This new tariff order gave more visibility to the company's earnings over next 2 years. JP Morgan maintains an overweight stance with price target of Rs 815.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley holds a quarterly performance review meeting with the chief executive officers of public sector banks and financial institutions. the finance minister is expected to focus on two key areas of pain - credit growth and NPA concerns.