Index Trends And Stocks In Action For 13th June 2013

The Indian markets fell for the fifth consecutive trading session on Wednesday on the back of selling pressure witnessed in consumer durables, metals and automobiles.  Growth concerns continued to weigh after the country’s industrial production grew less than expected.  The Nifty shed 28 points to end at 5760. The Nifty ended below its 200-EMA. Going ahead, 5720 will act as a strong support for the Nifty on the downside. On the other hand, the Nifty will face resistance at levels of around 5795-5830.

Pharma major, Sun Pharma is set to pay USD 550 million (Rs 3120 crore) to Pfizer to settle the litigation pertaining to the generic of Pantoprazole (brand Protonix). Pantoprazole is a block buster drug with annual sales of USD 8 billion. Last year, Pfizer was seeking USD 960 million from Sun pharma as settlement fee but now has toned it down to USD 550 million. The news however is likely to be seen negatively by the markets.

Apollo Tyres, yesterday after market hours, announced it will acquire US-based Cooper Tire & Rubber Company at a realisation of USD 2.5 billion. The company in the exchange filing has said that the merged entity would become the 7th largest in the world with total annual sales of more than USD 6.6 billion. The transaction is expected to take place in the second half of 2013. The market will see this as a positive move as the US economy is showing recovery which will help Apollo to leverage the assets of the Cooper Tire & Rubber Company.

Fund houses have increased holdings in IT giant Infosys. As per the news articles, there is a rise of about 50-100 basis points in the holdings of fund houses in the company. Recently NR Narayana Murthy has also re-joined the company. The rupee depreciation also would prove to be positive for its revenues. Some positive movement can be expected in the shares of company.

Mahindra Holidays & Resorts said it will invest Rs 500 crore for expanding its inventory by 40% over the next two years. It will add 1000 rooms to make its total room count to 3500. The expansion would be funded through internal accruals and the debt-free status of the company would be maintained. Moreover, international expansion is also on the cards. Share prices of Mahindra Holidays & Resorts are likely to see some upward movement today.