 "Weak European markets and inflation data play spoilsport")
• Indian markets touched new lows following a weak opening in the European market. BSE Sensex currently trades at 18,371, down by 160 points while the NSE Nifty trades at 5500, down 44 points.
• Market breadth has turned negative with 1,000 stocks advancing and 1,624 declining. 125 stocks remain unchanged.Apart from four stocks, the remaining in the BSE Sensex are trading lower. Hero Honda is the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack with a rise of 1.75% at Rs 1,827, followed by Bharti Airtel at Rs 370, up 0.93%.
• European markets opened weaker with FTSE down 0.31%, DAX down 0.81% and CAC down 0.92%.
• The wholesale price index data announced today was at 8.66% for April, higher than the market expectation of 8.44%. This was however lower than the WPI index of 9.04% in March.
• The increase in petrol prices has resulted in public sector oil marketing companies opening higher. However, with the general weakness in the market, all of them are currently trading near their lows. IOC is trading at Rs 342, down by 0.33%, HPCL is down by 1.6% and BPCL is down by 1.31%.
• Auto companies, which will be affected the most due to this rise, are all trading lower. Maruti is down by 0.84%, Tata Motors is down 0.1%, Ashok Leyland is down by 0.61% and M&M is down 3%.
• Suzlon, which announced its results after market hours on Friday, is trading higher by 1.32%. The company posted a profit of Rs 431.6 crore in the fourth quarter against a loss of Rs 188.5 crore in the previous year.
[caption id=“attachment_10225” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Glenmark Pharma has inked a licensing deal with Sanofi. Reuters”]
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• The main corporate news during the hour is of Glenmark Pharma. It has out-licensed its novel monoclonal antibody GBR 500 to Sanofi. Sanofi will be developing the molecule for Crohn’s Disease and other anit-inflammatory conditions such as multiple sclerosis. The combined upfront and potential development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments could total $613 million. The stock has reacted very strongly and currently trades at Rs 315.40, up 15.03%.