Share markets in India finished on a weak note as investors continued to book profits ahead of the April F&O expiry. At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex closed lower by 104 points, whereas the NSE Nifty finished lower by 10 points. The S&P BSE Midcap finished up by 0.1% while the S&P BSE Small Cap Index ended flat.
Among the BSE sectoral indices, metal sector and FMCG sector witnessed the selling pressure. Gains were largely seen in stocks from realty sector and information technology sector.
Asian equity markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Hang Seng gained 0.49% and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.36%. The Nikkei 225 lost 0.19%. European markets are lower today with shares in London off the most. The FTSE 100 is down 0.58% while France’s CAC 40 is off 0.33% and Germany’s DAX is lower by 0.24%.
The rupee was trading at Rs 64.11 against the US$ in the afternoon session. Oil prices were trading at US$ 49.17 at the time of writing.
Lupin share price fell by 2.5% after the US health regulator issued Form 483 with three observations to its Goa plant. The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) inspected this plant between March 27 and 7 April 2017.
Reportedly, Goa plant contributed close to 50% of the US sales (around 25% of consolidated revenue) and accounted for 30 outstanding ANDAs.
Bank stocks finished the day on a mixed note with IDFC Bank & Yes Bank leading the gains. Axis bank share price declined over 2.2% after the private lender reported a 43.13% drop in net profit for the quarter ended 31 March 2017 to Rs 12.25 billion from Rs 21.54 billion reported for the same quarter of 2015-16.
The bank’s net interest income however rose 3.87% to Rs 47.29 billion. The ratio of gross NPAs to gross advances stood at 5.04% as on 31 March 2017 as against 5.22% as on 31 December 2016 and 1.67% as on 31 March 2016.
