Share markets in India have erased early gains and are presently trading on a flat note, dragged down by metal and FMCG companies.
In early trade today, the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty hit a six-month intraday high, taking cues from other Asian markets that rose on progress in US-China trade talks and following another record close on Wall Street.
Presently, the BSE Sensex is trading up by 53 points, at 38,850 levels.
Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading up by 11 points. The top gainers in NSE today include IndusInd Bank and SBI.
The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.3%. The BSE Small Cap index is trading on a flat note.
On the sectoral front, metal stocks are witnessing most of the selling pressure.
The rupee is trading at 74.38 against the US$.
Gold prices are currently trading up by 0.3% at Rs 51,410.
In news from the pharma sector, drug major Lupin said it has received approval from the US health regulator for its Albuterol Sulfate Inhalation Aerosol, used for treatment of acute episodes of bronchospasm or prevention of asthmatic symptoms.
The approved product is a generic version of ProAir HFA of Teva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R&D, Inc.
The company's CEO Vinita Gupta said, "the approval is timely as Albuterol MDI is a key rescue inhalation product for asthma patients who are at an increased risk of COVID-19-related complications. We look forward to launching the product this quarter and expect a steady ramp-up through the fiscal year."
Lupin share price is presently trading up by 0.7%.
Moving on, Max Financial Services is among the top buzzing stocks today.
Stock of the company zoomed over 13% to a fresh 52-week high of Rs 622 on the BSE after the company said that Axis Bank has reduced the size of the stake that it plans to buy in Max Life Insurance to 17% from 29%.
Initially, Axis Bank had planned to raise its stake in the insurer to 30% for about Rs 15.9 billion.
In a filing to exchanges, Max Financial said that the parties have executed the definitive agreements. Axis Bank and Max Life will shortly approach the respective regulatory authorities, with revised applications for their consideration and approval.
The private-sector lender's move comes amid reports that the deal, announced in April, ran into a regulatory roadblock over certain clauses in the agreement.
Last month, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) had communicated to Axis Bank and Max Life Insurance, promoted by Max Financial Services, to make some changes to the value creation options that the two firms were exploring.
Irdai had asked them to factor in some alternate mechanisms subject to regulatory approvals.
As per reports, there was a clause in the deal that said that after a little over five years, the entity will go for a listing on the bourses. However, if the listing does not happen, Axis Bank would swap the unlisted Max Life's 30% holding with the listed entity Max Financial Services, depending on the swap ratio.
Further, if even that is not possible, then Axis Bank would have a put option to sell its shares in Max Life at a pre-determined price to Max Financial. Irdai has raised objections to these options included in the deal.
Max Financial Services share price is presently trading up by 14.4%.
Speaking of the finance sector, note that the market crash impacted all stocks, but finance stocks took the worst hit.
Even as the Sensex has made a comeback to pre-COVID levels, the slowdown and asset quality concerns amid the moratorium extension, is an overhang on the financial sector.
Comments
Log in or sign up to join the conversation.