Stocks Radar: Godfrey Phillips, Balkrishna Industries, Natco Pharma, ONGC, Reliance Industries

Indian equity benchmarks opened lower on Tuesday, mirroring their Asian peers. The S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty 50 Index fell as much as 0.12 percent to 37,537.20 and 11,096.15, respectively, as of 10:45 a.m.

The market breadth was tilted in favour of sellers as 924 stocks declined and 711 advanced. Eight of the 11 sectoral gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange traded lower, dragged by a 1.51 percent fall in the NSE Nifty IT Index. The NSE Nifty Media Index was the top gained, up 1.33 percent.

The rupee, too, opened lower against the U.S. dollar. The domestic currency depreciated as much as 0.55 percent to 71.18 against the greenback.

Here Are The Stocks Moving The Market This Morning

Godfrey Phillips Gains Most In Over Two Years

Shares of Godfrey Phillips India Ltd. surged 20 percent to hit the upper circuit at Rs.850.7 apiece.

The cigarette maker’s consolidated profit jumped nearly twofold over the last year to Rs 118.42 crore for the quarter ended June. Its income rose to Rs 858.49 crore from Rs 612.56 crore a year ago, according to exchange filings.

Balkrishna Industries Falls Most In Nine Months

Shares of Balkrishna Industries Ltd. slumped as much as 5.6 percent—the most in nine months—to Rs 728.7 apiece.

This comes even as the tyremaker halted its plans to set up a new plant in the U.S. Balkrishna Industries in September had announced its plans to set up a greenfield project with a capacity of 20,000 metric tonnes per annum in the U.S. for Rs 700 crore. That gave rise to concerns over capital expenditure, leading to a decline in the company’s shares.

The stock has declined 39 percent in the past one year, according to Bloomberg data.

Natco Pharma Drops On U.S. FDA Observations

Shares of Natco Pharma Ltd. fell as much as 2.8 percent to Rs 535.5 apiece.

The drugmaker received six observations after the U.S. regulator conducted an inspection of its active pharmaceutical ingredient facility in Mekaguda Village, near Hyderabad, according to an exchange filing. The inspection was conducted between Aug. 5 and Aug. 9.

Natco Pharma, however, said none of observations are related to data integrity and all of them can be addressed within a short period of time.

The drugmaker’s stock has declined 29 percent in the last one year and trades at 16 times its estimated earnings per share for the coming year, Bloomberg data showed.

ONGC Gains Ahead Of Q1 Results

Shares of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. rose as much as 2 percent to Rs 133.55 apiece despite higher crude prices.

The oil and gas explorer is scheduled to report its financials for the quarter ended June today.

ONGC trades at 5.3 times its estimated earnings per share for the coming year, according to Bloomberg data.

RIL Rises Most In Over Two Years

Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd. rose as much as 8.8 percent—the most since February 2017—to Rs 1,264.8 apiece.

This came after billionaire Mukesh Ambani announced a plan to raise funds and sell stake in various businesses to make the company debt free in the next 18 months. Ambani said the company plans to sell a 20 percent stake in refining and petrochemicals business to Saudi Aramco for $75 billion.

The stock has gained 6.3 percent in the past one year, according to Bloomberg data.