Indian share markets began the trading week on a flat note amid mixed global markets. At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 34 points, while the NSE Nifty finished up by 13 points. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Mid Cap & the S&P BSE Small Cap finished up by 1% and 0.7% respectively. Gains were largely seen in realty and power sectors.
Banking stocks were the biggest drag today after RBI had asked banks to maintain a temporary incremental cash reserve ratio (CRR) of 100% to absorb excess liquidity from the system after the government’s move to withdraw larger banknotes sparked a surge in deposits.
Asian markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Hang Seng gained 0.47% and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.46%. The Nikkei 225 lost 0.13%. European markets edged lower in early trade with shares in France off the most. The CAC 40 is down 1.02% while Germany’s DAX is off 1% and London’s FTSE 100 is lower by 0.87%.
The rupee was trading at 68.72 against the US$ in the afternoon session. Oil prices were trading at US$ 45.56 at the time of writing.
Cipla’s share price finished the trading day on an encouraging note (up 1.3%) after it was reported that the company is in discussions to sell Cipla Vet, its animal health division. According to an article in The Livemint, Cipla’s move to sell its veterinary business comes in the backdrop of its overall plan to rationalize its markets and portfolio and exit non-core, low-profit businesses.
Cipla (CPLFY) does not provide specific financial details for its veterinary business and classifies this segment under the ‘others’ category in its earnings presentation. The category reportedly accounted for 2-3% of the company’s total consolidated sales of Rs 136.78 billion in 2015-16.
The company also has plans to pull out of about 30 emerging markets as part of the restructuring, of which it has already exited from 24-25 markets in terms of direct presence. Last fiscal, Cipla also changed its business model in Europe to business-to-business from direct-to-market.
