Share markets in India have erased most of their opening gains and are presently trading flat with a negative bias, mirroring the mixed trend in Asian indices.
Government data released on Friday evening showed the country's trade deficit in goods stood at US$ 4.83 billion in July, after its first trade surplus in over 18 years in the previous month.
In early trade today, the BSE Sensex rose as much as 200 points. Presently, the BSE Sensex is trading down by 21 points, at 37,900 levels.
Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading up by 10 points.
The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.1%. The BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.6%.
On the sectoral front, energy stocks are witnessing most of the selling pressure.
Telecom stocks are in focus today as the Supreme Court will again hear the AGR case. In last week's hearing, the apex court had directed telecom companies under insolvency to submit details of spectrum sharing agreements that they have entered into.
The rupee is trading at 74.82 against the US$.
Gold prices are trading up by 0.3% at Rs 52,383 per 10 grams.
In news from the pharma sector, Glenmark Pharma is among the top buzzing stocks today.
Shares of the company rose as much as 7% today after the company posted an over two-fold increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,540.4 million for the quarter ended June 2020 (Q1FY21).
The company had reported a net profit of Rs 1,092.8 million for the April-June period of 2019-20.
Consolidated revenue stood at Rs 23,447.8 million for the first quarter, as compared to Rs 23,228.7 million in the year-ago period.
Other income for the quarter rose to Rs 585 million from Rs 17 million.
On the operational front, Glenmark Pharma's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) rose 39.8% YoY while margins rose to 20.4% from 14.7% last year.
The company's Chairman and MD said, "it has been a challenging quarter across all markets due to the ongoing pandemic. Despite the difficult operating environment, we managed to record sales growth for the organization."
The company was the first entity in the country to launch Favipiravir for the treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19, he said.
The company's formulation sales in the domestic market during the first quarter rose to Rs 7,798.9 million from Rs 7,522.1 million in the same period of previous fiscal.
Glenmark Pharma share price is presently trading up by 1.8%.
Moving on to news from the banking sector, US-based Rosen law firm has announced an investigation of potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of HDFC Bank following allegations that the bank may have issued materially misleading business information to the investors.
In a press release issued on Sunday night, Rosen law firm said that it is preparing a securities lawsuit on behalf of HDFC bank shareholders.
Last month, it was reported that HDFC bank is looking into the alleged improper lending practices in its vehicle financing arm involving the business head Ashok Khanna. The allegation was that the bank had forced its car loan customers to purchase a vehicle tracking device.
The US security firm's probe is happening at a time when there are only two months left for the current CEO of the bank, Aditya Puri, to retire from service after 26 years in the post. Sashidhar Jagdishan, an insider, has been named as the new CEO of the bank to succeed after Puri's term ends.
The misconduct by the bank officials was acknowledged by Aditya Puri in the bank's AGM during which he said that an internal probe was conducted against a few erring employees and appropriate action was taken.
According to the law firm, HDFC Bank reported its financial results for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2021, missing analyst estimates with respect to net profit and reporting a deterioration in its asset quality.
On 6 August, The Print reported that credit information bureau Experian Plc's Indian unit had informed the Reserve Bank of India that "HDFC Bank has been late in providing details of its loans, including the repayment status of its millions of retail borrowers.
The law firm has sought information from all those HDFC bank shareholders who are looking to recover their losses in the bank's securities.
Last year the law firm had prepared a class action lawsuit against Infosys after an anonymous whistleblower group accused the company's management of taking "unethical" steps to boost short-term revenue and profits.
HDFC Bank share price is presently trading down by 0.6%.
Note that, HDFC Bank is one that has always adapted to changing times.
HDFC Bank wanted to transform itself from a leader in physical banking to a leader in online banking. Since then, HDFC Bank has constantly focused on going digital.
In 2004, only 10% of customer transactions were initiated through the internet and mobile. The number has gone up to 92% in 2019.
It is a great example of a company that has taken advantage of its scale and embraced disruption rather than fear it.
These are traits that one should look for in picking stocks. They not only withstand the disruption but also gain from it in the long-run.
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