Markets trade flat; pharma stocks rally again

Commentary

oi-Sunil

By Sunil Fernandes

Published: Thursday, October 31, 2013, 9:39 [IST]

Markets were trading flat after closing at a new record high of 21,033 points on Wednesday. The Sensex was trading higher by 21 points, while the Nifty gained 1 point in trade.

Among the early gainers were those from the pharma space including Dr Reddy's, Cipla and Ranbaxy. Other notable gainers in trade were Reliance, Coal India, HCL Tech and ITC.

PSU Banking stocks came in for selling pressure once again after IDBI Bank reported a poor set of numbers on Wednesday. In fact, Bank of Baroda and Allahabad Bank were trading lower ahead of their results to be declared later today.

Lupin continued to gain ground in trade today after the company reported a good set of numbers for q2 2013.

ICICI Bank which rallied substantially in the last few trading sessions lost ground today and was trading lower. Other notable losers from the banking space were Yes Bank, State Bank of India and HDFC Bank.

FMCG stocks including Hindustan Unilever and ITC were trading marginally lower today. Bharti Airtel which reported strong operational numbers rallied once again after jumping almost 6 per cent in trade on Wednesday.

Mid Cap stocks were also largely trading flattish. Among the gainers were Crompton Greaves, Mcleod Russel and Voltas.

Realty stocks were subdued in trade with notable losers being Oberoi Realty, HDIL, Indiabulls and Unitech.

Meanwhile, Asian markets were trading marginally lower after the FOMC meet, in which the tone set was less then dovish.

Most of the Asian markets including the Hong Kong's Hang Sang, the Chinese Shanghai Composite and the Singapore's Strait Times were lower.

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