Pfizer in News

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

Market slips after steady opening; Old Economy stocks ease

The market turned opened steady on Wednesday on selective buying in the blue chips and mid-cap side counters, but slipped into the red as selling resumed in stocks as trading progressed. Old Economy stocks lost ground amid worries about deficient monsoon.

The 30-share BSE Sensitive index (Sensex) opened steady at 4,911.22, but lost ground as trading progressed. At 10:35 IST, the Sensex was trading 15.92 points lower at 4,883.07, coming off its day's high of.

The NSE S & P CNX Nifty index was down 5.85 points at 1,533.45.

The undertone of the market appeared cautious amid the concerns over an erratic monsoon and a lack of clarity on the issue of turnover tax.

The representatives of the broking community, who met the finance minister on Tuesday on the proposed 0.15% transaction tax, wanted the tax on debt and all trading that does not involve delivery of shares to go. They want the tax to be restricted to FIIs and NRIs. Players feel that the domestic investors should be given a choice of paying either the transaction tax or the short-term capital gains tax.

The market is likely to remain until the outcome of the meeting is known.

Automobile pivotals Hero Honda Motor (down 1.63% to Rs 460), Tata Motors (down 0.91% to Rs 400.95), Bajaj Auto (down 0.60% to Rs 885) and Maruti Udyog (down 0.76% to Rs 415.60) lost further ground on sustained selling pressure amid worries that a deficient monsoon may affect agriculture growth and rural incomes, which are key for the growth of auto sector.

Grasim (down 1.48% to Rs 945), ACC (down 1.34% to Rs 228) and Gujarat Ambuja Cements (down 0.89% to Rs 262.60) lost further ground on sustained selling pressure.

The market - already worried over the 0.15% transaction tax - received another jolt today with fresh worries that agricultural production and rural income could be impacted due to deficient rains. The monsoon, so far, has been patchy. Things could get bad if the monsoon does not improve.

Heavyweights Reliance Industries (down 1.17% to Rs 425.40), ITC (down 1.95% to Rs 1,025), ONGC (down 1.05% to Rs 659) and Hindustan Lever (down 0.49% to Rs 123.10) also traded lower on selling pressure.

Other pivotals Ranbaxy Labs (down 1.92% to Rs 959.25), HPCL (down 0.77% to Rs 284), Dr Reddy's Labs (down 1.03% to Rs 749.50) and Zee Telefilms (down 1.10% to Rs 127) were also trading lower on selling pressure.

Infosys Tech (up 2.62% to Rs 1,439.25) gained further ground on the back of strong quarterly results and encouraging future guidance. For quarter ended 30 June 2004, the tech major posted a 42% rise in the net profit to Rs 394.47 crore (Rs 278.12 crore) on income of Rs 1,489.30 crore (Rs 1,114.20 crore). On consolidated basis, for the quarter ended 30 June 2004, the Infosys Tech group posted a 39.22% rise in the net profit to Rs 388.34 crore (Rs 278.92 crore) on total income of Rs 1,533.08 crore (Rs 1,126.64 crore).

Other tech pivotals Satyam Computer (up 1.47% to Rs 325) and Wipro (up 2.22% to Rs 506.95) also gained ground on the back of Infosys' strong quarterly performance.

Bharti Tele-Ventures (up 1.52% to Rs 154) rose as buying resumed on the counter after Tuesday's fall from the higher levels.

Bhel (up 1.56% to Rs 553) gained further ground on sustained buying interest on the counter after the company announced that it had won a Rs 410 crore order to set up the 800-megawatt Koldam Hydro electric project in Himachal Pradesh.

Subros (up 4.42% to Rs 195) traded higher 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).

Praj Industries 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).

Steel Authority of India (up 2.76% to Rs 29.80) inched up on reports that the company notched up the highest ever sales of finished steel during the first quarter of the year, riding on strong demand in the domestic steel market. Between April and June 2004, the company registered a sale of 1.7 million tonnes of finished steel, a growth of 9% over the corresponding period last year.

Biocon (up 4.30% to Rs 577) firmed up 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.

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.