Pfizer in News

Publication : Capital Market News
Provider : Capital Market Publishers Pvt. India Ltd.
July 14, 2004

Market loses ground

The market lost ground once again in the afternoon as selling pressure resumed in stocks amid worries about an deficient monsoon. Uncertainty of the finance minister's meeting with the representatives of the broking
community on Tuesday evening also affected the sentiment of the market. While frontline stocks displayed mixed trends, stock-specific action was seen in select mid-cap side counters.

At 13:05 IST, the Sensex was trading 25.93 points lower at 4,873.06, having come off its day's high of 4,933.34.

The NSE S & P CNX Nifty index was down 8.70 points at 1,530.60.

The delay in monsoons is seen as a bigger concern. According to the Indian Meteorological Department reports, while the monsoons have been below average as yet, their distribution has also been uneven, affecting crops in various regions. There are concerns that the delay in monsoons could also affect the yield of cash crops like cotton, grains and cereals. A normal monsoon is crucial for the economy to grow over 7% targeted rate. In the event of a deficient monsoon, the government's growth target may go haywire.

HDFC (down 2.60% to Rs 545.95) lost ground as selling continued on the counter, with only 18,520 shares traded on BSE.

Automobile pivotals Hero Honda Motor (down 2.26% to Rs 457.05), Bajaj Auto (down 2.03% to Rs 872.25) and Tata Motors (down 0.15% to Rs 404.50) traded lower on selling pressure amid worries that a deficient monsoon may affect agriculture growth and rural incomes, which are key for the growth of auto sector.

Cement pivotals Grasim (down 1.16% to Rs 948.10) and ACC (down 0.91% to Rs 229) remained subdued as selling continued amid worries that a deficient monsoon may mean poor offtake of cement.

Heavyweights ITC (down 2.49% to Rs 1,019.35), Reliance Industries (down 1.32% to Rs 424.75), ONGC (down 1.22% to Rs 657.90) and Hindustan Lever (down 0.57% to Rs 123) also contributed to the weakness of the Sensex.

Pharma pivotals Dr Reddy's Labs (down 1.62% to Rs 745), Ranbaxy Labs (down 1.43% to Rs 964) and Cipla (down 0.32% to Rs 234) also failed to attract defensive buying interest.

Meanwhile, tech pivotals Infosys Tech (up 1.69% to Rs 1,426.15), Wipro (up 1.82% to Rs 505) and Satyam Computer (up 1.20% to Rs 324.15) traded higher on sustained buying interest on the back of strong quarterly performance of the tech bellwether Infosys Technologies.

Tata Steel (up 1.82% to Rs 313.30) held gains on sustained buying interest after the government revoked the Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) benefit for steel exporters effected in March 2004. Steel majors will now get the DEPB benefit with retrospective effect, with adjustments in rates as per the import duty cuts on steel announced in March 2004.

Maruti Udyog (up 1.03% to Rs 423.10) bounced back in the positive zone - recovering from the day's low of Rs 415.05 - on fresh buying at lower levels after early weakness. Over 15 lakh MUL shares were traded on BSE so far.

Other pivotals Bharti Tele-Ventures (up 0.40% to Rs 152.30), HDFC Bank (up 0.42% to Rs 366.75), MTNL (up 1.71% to Rs 134) and Tata Power (up 1% to Rs 253) were also trading higher on fresh buying interest.

Pharmacia Healthcare (Rs 102.85) was frozen at the 10% lower limit of circuit breaker as investor sold, disappointed by the share swap ratio ahead of its merger with Pfizer. The board of Pfizer, on Wednesday morning, approved the merger of Pharmacia Healthcare with it. The swap ratio for the merger has been set at one share of Pfizer for every five shares of Pharmacia Healthcare.

Flex Industries (down 1.03% to Rs 28.75) traded lower after the company announced quarterly results on Monday. For quarter ended 31 March 2004, the company posted a net profit of Rs 10.02 crore (Rs 10.30 crore) on sales of Rs 258.40 crore (Rs 192.21 crore).

Praj Industries (Rs 137.90) was frozen at the 5% upper limit of circuit breaker after the company announced improved quarterly results on Monday. For quarter ended 30 June 2004, the company posted a net profit of Rs 3.62 crore (Rs 1.30 crore) on total income of Rs 26.17 crore (Rs 21.79 crore).

UTI Bank (up 4.77% to Rs 127.30) traded firm after the private equity fund Actis sold its remaining 4.9% stake in the bank in a deal worth about Rs 160 crore. Over 1.20 crore shares were traded in three block deals on BSE for about Rs 129 each. HSBC Holdings Plc holds a 14.7% stake in UTI Bank. It had purchased the stake in UTI Bank from Actis.

Biocon (up 2.49% to Rs 567) traded firm - yet off its day's high of Rs 585 - on selective buying after India's largest biotech company said that its net profit in the quarter ended 30 June 2004, more than doubled to Rs 48.60 crore from a year earlier. Total revenue for the quarter rose to Rs 180 crore from Rs 110 crore a year earlier.

Subros (up 1.74% to Rs 190) traded higher - yet off its day's high of Rs 197.45 - on selective buying after the company announced improved quarterly results on Monday. For quarter ended 30 June 2004, the company posted a net profit of Rs 4.18 crore (Rs 2.83 crore) on total income of Rs 165.76 crore (Rs 136.39 crore).