Mid-day Market Commentary

Though still well into the negative territory, markets pared some of its losses during the previous hour of trade. However, currently not even a single stock is trading firm on the NSE indicating the negative mood prevailing amongst participants. Selling is being witnessed across all sectors with aluminium, telecom and engineering stocks being the major losers. Even the CNX Midcap index is down 4%. The BSE Sensex is trading at 14,253 (down 286 by points) while the NSE Nifty is trading at 4,083 (down 105 points). The rupee is trading at 44.18 to the dollar. Tea major, Tata Tea is looking to spin off its bottled water business into a separate company. The group''s bottled water business currently includes a 30% stake in US'' third largest bottled water company Energy Brands Inc (Glaceau). The decision to spin-off could help the group minimise the impact of the Glaceau acquisition on the balance sheet of Tata Tea. With the acquisition, the company faced a lot of pressure on interest costs in 3QFY07. The stock, along with its group company Tata Coffee, is trading 3% lower. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is planning to enter the European market by acquiring a front-end pharmaceutical company for about Rs 1 bn. Though the name of the target company is not disclosed, it is in Central Europe and has a strong marketing force and some approved products. Glenmark is already present in over 80 countries including the US in the business of finished products and key ingredients called APIs. It is strong in therapeutic segments such as dermatology, internal medicine, paediatrics, gynaecology, diabetes and oncology. The acquisition will help the company increase its presence in European region. The stock, along with its peer Ranbaxy, is trading 3% lower.