Nifty reclaims 8600; Shasun Pharma surges, Aarti Drugs down

Moneycontrol Bureau

12:30pm Market Expert: With the macroeconomic situation favouring India and the political mandate in favour, every correction is a good buying opportunity, says Swati Kulkarni, vice-president and fund manager, UTI MF.

She believes valuations of banking stocks continue to be supportive and the sector is likely to outperform. From a growth perspective, private sector banks are better placed in terms of capital adequacy, but from a valuation point of view, large public sector banks may gain more.

She also sees initial signs of a pick-up in medium-to-heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) segment in the auto space.

12:00pm Market Check

The market maintained its uptrend amid volatility. The Sensex rose 107.58 points to 28299.60 and the Nifty climbed 33.50 points to 8584.40.

However, the broader markets underperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices trading lower and the market breadth turned in favour of declines.

JP Morgan's chief global strategist Joyce Chang prefers developed market equiteis over emerging markets; but says India story stands out among emerging markets. Chang sees near term consolidation in Indian equities but he is positive on India in the medium term.

Shasun Pharma and Strides Arcolab gained 4-5 percent after the CCI gave its approval to the proposed merger between the 2 pharma companies.

Shares of Aarti Drugs plunged nearly 17 percent intraday after the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) issued an import alert on company’s Palghar unit in Maharashtra. However, the stock recovered some losses to trade 8 percent lower post clarification by the company saying this import alert won't have major impact on earnings.

Sun Pharma and Ranbaxy Labs gained 2 percent each after CCI approved their plan to divest all 7 brands to Emcure Pharma.

Jindal Steel and Power gained 2 percent. The Delhi High Court issued notice to the government asking why the company's winning bids for two blocks have been cancelled. The court Also restrained the government from allotting Tara coal block to Coal India.

Globally Asian markets traded mostly lower post weak China PMI data. China's HSBC flash manufacturing PMI fell to 49.2, marking an 11-month low.