Nifty hovers around 8400; Infosys & TCS most active; Axis soars

Moneycontrol Bureau12:59 pm Market Update: Benchmark indices remained listless in afternoon trade. The Sensex was down 30.21 points at 27216.95 and the Nifty fell 15 points to 8392.20.12:45 pm Drug launch: Pharma major Lupin today said it has launched in the US market its generic version of morphine sulfate ER tablets used for management of severe pain.

The company said it has launched the morphine sulfate ER Tablets in strengths of 15 mg, 30 mg, 60 mg, 100 mg and 200 mg having received an approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).

"Lupin's morphine sulfate ER tablets 15 mg, 30 mg, 60 mg, 100 mg and 200 mg are the AB rated generic equivalent of Purdue Pharma's MS Contin ER Tablets 15 mg, 30 mg, 60 mg, 100 mg and 200 mg," Lupin said in a statement.12:33 pm New TCS CEO: Newly appointed Rajesh Gopinathan as CEO and MD of TCS, who replaces N Chandrasekaran, has big shoes to fill in.Exuding confidence, the former TCS chief says his successor will take the country's largest IT services firm to "greater heights" and said that he has been groomed for the leadership role. And, Gopinathan hopes to continue with what the company has been doing in the past and also come up with new ideas. Gopinathan, who has taken greater roles at the company, from CFO to CEO, joined TCS from Tata Industries in the year 2001. He worked across different geographies and units before being appointed CFO in 2013. Gopinathan is an alumni of Regional Engineering College, Trichy (now National Institute of Technology), and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.At a time when profits of competitiors of TCS were eroding, Gopinathan ensured that the company managed to retain its profitability.12:20 pm Management change: Country's second biggest IT firm Infosys has elevated its President and Chief Delivery Officer, Ravikumar S, as the Deputy Chief Operating Officer.

He will report to Infosys COO U B Pravin Rao with immediate effect.

In addition to his current responsibility of heading the global delivery organisation, Ravikumar S will oversee certain strategic business enabling functions and will be based in India.

Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka said the appointment will provide "more bandwidth".

"Ravi is just amazing, he is an extraordinary colleague. Just look at the scale at which we operate, it is massive. So, Pravin and I both need more bandwidth," he said.Also read - Infosys Q3 net up 3%, cuts FY17 dollar revenue guidance to 7.2-7.6%12:00 pm Market Check

Benchmark indices remained volatile in noon with the Nifty hovering around 8400 level, especially after three-day rally. Expected fall in December CPI inflation and unexpected growth in factory data despite currency demonetisation seems already priced in.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 11.71 points at 27235.45 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 6.70 points to 8400.50.

Mahesh Nandurkar of CLSA says uncertainty in the market will continue till the Union Budget 2017. The preference for India has reduced due to concerns over the taxation of foreign portfolio investors. He adds that India is expensive at current levels.

He feels government’s focus in the upcoming Budget is expected to be on social infrastructure sector.

HDFC, Axis Bank and GAIL were top gainers, up 2-3 percent followed by Reliance Industries, ITC, ONGC, Sun Pharma and HUL while TCS and Infosys remained under pressure on profit booking post earnings.