After opening the day higher, Indian benchmark indices continued the momentum as the session progressed and ended the day firm.

Indian stock prices reached all-time highs shortly after the market opened on Friday, following gains among regional counterparts. This uptick came after US economic data alleviated growth worries, with investors now awaiting the latest domestic quarterly growth figures.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood higher by 231 points (0.3%).

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty closed higher by 84 points (up 0.3%).

Cipla, M&M, and Bajaj Finserv are among the top gainers today.

Tata Motors, Reliance Industries, and ITC on the other hand, were among the top losers today.

The GIFT Nifty was trading at 25,420 up 127 points at the time of writing.

The BSE MidCap index ended 0.5% higher and the BSE SmallCap index ended 0.8% higher.

Barring FMCG stocks all other sectoral indices were trading positively with stocks in the healthcare sector, realty sector, and auto sector witnessing buying speer.

Shares of Bajaj Auto, Abbott India, and Pfizer hit their respective 52-week highs today.

The rupee is trading at 83.87 against the US$.

Gold prices for the latest contract on MCX are trading marginally lower at Rs 72,142 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, silver prices were trading 0.1% lower at Rs 86,950 per 1 kg.
 

SpiceJet Slips 6%. Here's why

In news from the airline sector, SpiceJet shares slipped 6.4% to Rs 62 in Friday's trade on BSE as aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) placed the budget airline under enhanced surveillance following an audit that revealed certain deficiencies.

DGCA on Thursday decided to place SpiceJet under enhanced surveillance that will entail increased spot checks and night surveillance to ensure the safety of the airline's operations.

Based on reports of cancellation of flights and financial stress being experienced by SpiceJet, DGCA said it conducted a special audit of the airline's engineering facilities on 7 August and 8 August and certain deficiencies were found during the audit.

It may be recalled that after a series of occurrences reported on the SpiceJet fleet in 2022, a special drive of spot checks was undertaken during which SpiceJet was permitted to release aircraft for operations only after confirming to DGCA that all reported defects/ malfunctions had been rectified.

For a while, SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh has been searching for investors and is looking to dilute a large stake to raise around Rs 30 bn.

While the airline had earlier announced to raise around Rs 22.5 bn from a clutch of 64 investors, it could only raise Rs 10.6 bn as one of the primary investors backed out.

SpiceJet is an Indian budget airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana.

The airline operates 630 daily flights to 64 destinations, including 54 Indian and 15 international destinations from its bases at Delhi and Hyderabad.

Natco Pharma Jumps 5%. Here's Why

Moving on to news from the pharma sector, shares of Natco Pharma jumped nearly 5% to Rs 1,569 in Friday's intraday trade on BSE after the firm submitted a product application with the US health regulator for a generic product indicated for the treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

The company has submitted an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) containing a paragraph IV certification with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the generic version of Novartis' Tabrecta.

The drug firm believes it is the first company to have filed a substantially complete ANDA containing a Paragraph IV Certification for this product and expects to be eligible for 180 days of sole marketing exclusivity at the time of the potential launch of the product under certain circumstances.

Industry estimates show that Tabrecta recorded sales of US$ 126 m in the US market for 2023, translating to Rs 10.6 bn at the current dollar-rupee exchange rate.

Established in 1981 and headquartered in Hyderabad, Natco Pharma is a vertically integrated R&D-driven pharma company. In India, it is the market leader in oncology and gastrohepatology.

In the US, Natco is focused on niche and difficult-to-make complex generics such as Tamiflu and Copaxone highlighting its R&D capabilities.
 

Why City Union Bank Jumps 4%

Moving on to news from the banking sector, shares of City Union Bank rallied over 4% on 30 August amid heavy volumes.

Recently, the Tamil Nadu-based lender opened a new branch in Trichy - taking the total number of branches count to 807.

As much as 5.7 m equity shares were exchanged on both BSE and NSE on 28 August intra-day deals, significantly exceeding 1.9 m equity shares exchanged on a one-week average.

In the recently-concluded June quarter, the lender had registered a 16.4% year-on-year (YoY) increase in net profit to Rs 2.6 bn, while net interest income had risen 4.5% YoY to Rs 5.5 bn.

The gross non-performing asset stood at 3.9% in the June quarter, down from 4% in the previous quarter. Net NPA, too, came at 1.8% as against 1.9% quarter-on-quarter.

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