Asian share markets are higher today as Japanese and Hong Kong shares show gains. The Nikkei 225 is up 1.3% while the Hang Seng is up 1.6%. The Shanghai Composite is trading up by 1.6%. US stocks climbed on Friday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hitting their highest levels in two weeks, as strong US jobs growth blunted the impact of an escalating US-China trade dispute.
Back home, India share markets opened the day higher. The BSE Sensex is trading up by 209 points while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 65 points. The BSE Mid Cap index and BSE Small Cap index opened up by 0.8% & 0.9% respectively.
The rupee is currently trading at 68.88 to the US$.
Barring IT stocks, all sectoral indices opened the day in green with metal stocks and automobile stocks witnessing maximum buying interest.
In the news from the automobiles sector. As per an article in a leading financial daily, Ashok Leyland is gearing up to expand its light commercial vehicle business, international operations and defence mobility segment.
For the electric vehicle (EV) segment, Ashok Leyland is also looking to tap the proven success of its Optare bus range in the United Kingdom, for other locations as well.
In the years to follow, to sustain the growth momentum and take a great leap forward, the company is gearing to set globally bench-marked standards in reliability and after-market support, the company stated.
The company, which sells LCVs like Dost and Partner in the country, also has a wide presence across international markets with footprint in more than 50 countries.
Ashok Leyland is one of the leading suppliers of logistics vehicles to the Indian Army. Its range of products include rapid intervention vehicles, field artillery tractors, light recovery vehicles, water bowsers, truck firefighters and fuel dispensers.
Ashok Leyland share price opened the day up by 2%.
Moving on to the news from pharma sector. As per an article in a leading financial daily, Zydus Cadila has got tentative nod from the US health regulator to market Deferasirox tablets for oral suspension.
Reportedly, the tentative approval was granted by USFDA to market Deferasirox Tablets in the strengths of 125 mg, 250 mg, and 500 mg.
The tablet is used to treat high levels of iron in the body caused by multiple blood transfusions.
It is also used to treat high levels of iron in people with a certain blood disorder, wherein blood transfusion is not required -- non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia.
The product will be manufactured at the group's facility at SEZ, Ahmedabad.
The estimated sale of Deferasirox tablets is US$ 150.3 million.
In line with this, the group now has 202 approvals and has so far filed over 330 abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) since the commencement of the filing process in 2003-04.
Cadila Healthcare share price opened the day up by 0.9%.
Meanwhile, the BSE Healthcare Index has been on a roller coaster ride in the past few years. The period from 2012 to 2015 saw the index go up more than three times.
The Roller Coaster Ride of the BSE Healthcare Index
Since then it has been a painful ride downwards.
Pre-2015, pharma companies enjoyed a fairytale ride in the US market. Low labor costs, good chemistry skills, along with efficiency, ensured Indian companies could copy innovator drugs to make generic drugs at a fast pace.
The generic business had lucrative margins for all major pharma players. But the party did not last long. In the quest to supply drugs quickly, they compromised on quality at their manufacturing facilities.
The regulatory issues coupled with price erosion in US markets has impacted the business of major pharma players.
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