Dr Reddy's Lab completes acquisition of UCB's select brands

Drug firm Dr Reddy's Laboratories on Friday, said it has completed the acquisition of select portfolio of established brands of Belgian firm UCB in India.

"...With regard to acquisition of select portfolio of the established products business of UCB in India, Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd...Has concluded the transaction," the company said in a filing to the BSE.

On April 1, the drug firm had said that it would acquire select portfolio of established brands of UCB in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives for Rs 800 crore.

The company had entered into a definitive agreement with UCB which also entails absorbing 350 employees engaged in the operations of India business.

Dr Reddy's has said the acquired UCB portfolio would accelerate its presence in the high growth areas of dermatology, respiratory and pediatrics, with market leading brands such as Atarax, Nootropil, Zyrtec, Xyzal and Xyzal M.

Shares of Dr Reddy's Laboratories were trading at Rs 3,388.05 per scrip in the afternoon trade, up 0.41 percent from the previous close on the BSE.

Sensex, Nifty head for biggest weekly gain in nearly five months

 Indian shares rose in thin trade on Friday, heading for their biggest weekly gain in nearly five months, as market heavyweight Reliance Industries surged for a sixth straight session on optimism it would begin 4G phone services in December.

Cash share volumes were well below their 10-day average at 11:10 am IST on the BSE and the NSE exchanges, Thomson Reuters Eikon data shows, as trading was disrupted by heavy rains in the nation`s financial capital Mumbai.

Stocks also rose on value-buying and were on their way to snap the streak of three straight weekly losses, as the broader NSE index remains nearly 10 percent below its record high hit in March.

Asian shares, which rose for a third consecutive day, also helped sentiment as investors bet U.S. interest rates will not as rise quickly as expected.

"Good rains are good news for most. But it will be great if the government can make more headway on reforms in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament in August," said G. Chokkalingam, founder of Equinomics, a Mumbai-based research and fund advisory firm.

The Sensex gained 0.8 percent and the NSE index rose 0.7 percent, heading for their sixth consecutive session of gains.

The 30-share Sensex has risen 3.5 percent so far this week, while the Nifty is headed for a weekly rise of 3.1 percent, their biggest weekly gains since January 2015.

Progress on monsoon, passage of key land and tax reforms in the monsoon session, upcoming GDP data and June-quarter results are key triggers ahead, according to investors and traders.

Reliance Industries rose 1.1 percent, extending gains to nearly 13 percent in the last six sessions, after Chairman Mukesh Ambani said last Friday that the company could be ready to begin 4G phone services in December.

Among other blue-chips, Housing Development Finance Corp rose 2 percent, while Larsen & Toubro gained 0.9 percent

Mahindra and Mahindra advanced 3 percent after Magellan Aerospace Corp said on Thursday it would partner Mahindra`s aerospace unit for structural assemblies, machined components and fabrications.

Sun TV surges 8% after AG backs grant of security clearance

 Shares of Sun TV Network soared almost 8 percent Friday after Attorney General (AG) Mukul Rohatgi supported grant of security clearance to 33 channels of the Kalanithi Maran-promoted firm.

Following this, the stock jumped 7.86 percent to settle at Rs 333.55 on BSE. In intra-day, it surged 10.68 percent to Rs 342.30.

On NSE, it climbed 7.88 percent to Rs 333.90.

The company's market value rose Rs 957.69 crore to Rs 13,144.69 crore.

The AG has supported grant of security clearance, saying the corruption cases being investigated against the network's promoter cannot be the ground to deny permission.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry had recently approached the Law Ministry to seek the opinion of the top law officer on the issue after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) denied security clearance to the network.

In his opinion, the Attorney General has said security clearance can be granted as agencies are probing cases related to corruption, and not security. Hence, he added, corruption cases cannot be the ground to deny security clearance.

The I&B Ministry issues broadcasting licences for which companies require a security nod from MHA.

The ministry had earlier been informed about the decision of the Home Ministry denying security clearance to the TV network, which is believed to have been influenced by pending corruption cases against Maran and his brother, former Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran.

The 30-share Sensex today settled at 27,316.17, up 200.34 points. 

Deutsche Bank trims Sensex target to 31,000 by Dec 2015

 German brokerage Deutsche Bank has trimmed its year-end Sensex target to 31,000 from 33,000 on account of a more muted environment for foreign inflows and earnings cuts in preceding two quarters.

According to the brokerage, the second half of 2015 is likely to be marked by a "tug of war between global headwinds and domestic tailwinds."

"While US Fed lift-off concerns and global bond volatility should lead to a more muted and uncertain environment for foreign inflows, the domestic macro environment appears to be on an improving trajectory," Deutsche Bank said in a report.

As per the brokerage, while India would not stay immune to global volatility in second half of the year, the country may outperform most of its emerging market peers "based on an improving domestic macro-economy, return of government spending and the end of earnings downgrades."

"While we continue to maintain our constructive outlook on Indian equities, we trim our December, 2015 Sensex target to 31,000 from 33,000 premised on a more muted environment for foreign inflows and earnings cuts in preceding two quarters," Deutsche Bank said.

Government spending has picked up impressively in April this year, and if the spending momentum continues at the current pace, it would have a "strong and visible impact on macro-economic data," the report said.

The government's plan capital expenditure in April rose by 105 percent to Rs 110 billion while its total plan expenditure (capital and revenue) in the month was up 53 per cent, year-on year, it noted.

Recently, many foreign brokerages have slashed their Sensex and Nifty targets.

While Citi cut its Sensex forecast to 32,200 by December from its earlier projection of 33,000, the British brokerage HSBC trimmed it to 26,900 from 30,100.

On the other hand, the Swiss investment bank UBS reduced its Nifty target to 8,600 by December from 9,200.

However, global financial services major Morgan Stanley has reiterated its Sensex projection of 32,500 for December, 2015.