DLF stocks will be in focus as its promoters KP Singh family will sell their 40 per cent stake in the company’s rental arm DLF Cyber City Developers for an estimated Rs 14,000 crore to institutional investors. (Express Photo)

The BSE ensex and NSE Nifty opened on a strong note on Friday tracking firm global cues. At 9.22 am, Sensex was up 258.03 points at 27,103.84. Similarly, Nifty was up 73.30 points at 8,202.65.

Below are the stocks that are likely to be in focus

Rajesh Exports: The jewellery firm has bagged an export order worth Rs 1,360 crore for gold and diamond studded jewellery and medallions from the UAE.

8K Miles Software: The cloud solutions provider 8K Miles Software on Thursday reported a 111 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 8.74 crore for the September quarter, with its revenue jumping 126 per cent to Rs 61.09 crore.

RIL and ONGC: A reputed international consultant D&M is believed to have opined that some natural gas from ONGC’s idling Bay of Bengal gas fields may have flown out through the adjoining, connected KG-D6 fields of Reliance Industries.

DLF: DLF promoters KP Singh family will sell their 40 per cent stake in the company’s rental arm DLF Cyber City Developers for an estimated Rs 14,000 crore to institutional investors.

Power Grid Corporation of India: The company has incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary (WOS) company named ‘Grid Conductors’ to manufacture aluminium and aluminium alloy electricity conductors at an estimated cost of Rs 127.35 crore on September 15, 2015.

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty are likely to open in green on Friday tracking SGX Nifty and global cues. (Photo: PTI)

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty are likely to open in green on Friday tracking SGX Nifty and global cues.

At 8.30 am (IST), SGX Nifty was up 0.71 per cent, or 58.50 points, at 8,226.50.

Asian shares rose on Friday, taking their cue from a jump in oil prices as well as gains on Wall Street after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting led investors to further pare bets that the central bank will hike interest rates this year.

Oil prices climbed to their highest in three months on Thursday, after forecaster PIRA Energy Group predicted crude prices would rise to $70 per barrel by the end of 2016.

The S&P 500 closed at a seven-week high on Thursday, though S&P 500 e-mini futures edged down about 0.1 percent in early Asian trading.

Japan’s Nikkei stock index added 1 percent, poised to gain 3.4 percent for the week.

Domestic equity markets snapped six-day winning streak on Thursday on the back of profit booking and weak rupee. Sensex slid 190.04 points at 26,845.81, while Nifty lost 48.05 points at 8,129.35.

Maintain ‘buy’ on Sobha Developers with a target price of R400 per share. Only 42% of the 4 million sq. feet (R2,600 crore) guidance has been achieved till H1FY16. Therefore, we expect another year of operational disappointment unless the company’s Gurgaon launch springs a strong positive surprise. We estimate FY16 pre-sales of 3.4 msf (R2,170 crore). The recent corrections have made the stock attractive, with operational negativity largely factored in. However, re-rating hinges on operational normalcy — which might take another six months to play out. Sobha trades at

8.9x FY17e EPS, 1x FY17e BV and EV of ~7x FY17e cash ebitda.

Sobh’a Q2FY16 pre-sales stood at 0.85 msf (R490 crore) versus 0.84 msf (R500 crore) in Q1FY16 and expectation of R0.9 msf (R550 crore). Sobha Retreat (0.02 msf) at Langford Road (Bangalore), a presidential apartment property with seven units, was the only new launch (at R25,000 psf). Dream Acres continued to remain the key contributor; however, it run-rate appears to plateauing (ASP R4,875 psf). Average realization, consequently, was down ~3% q-o-q to Rs 5,821 psf.

Bangalore mix declined to 71% in Q2 (versus ~83% q-o-q and 75% in FY15), largely due to decline in pre-sales run-rate of key project Dream Acres. However, luxury projects in Bangalore posted sequential improvement (~7% q-o-q). Chennai and Kerala projects recorded an uptick — led by projects such as Lake Edge (Thrissur) and Sobha Evergreen (Chennai) and better NRI demand in Q2. Gurgaon launch is likely by Q4FY16 while uncertainty over Thrissur and Chennai launches persists.

Shares of pharmaceutical companies are poised to outperform benchmark indices for the fifth

consecutive calendar year, driven by a pick-up in USFDA approvals and a weak rupee, providing a double-boost to profitability and stock performance of these companies.

According to Bloomberg data, the CNX Pharma index has yielded 20.67% return so far in 2015 while the benchmark Nifty has lost 1.85% of its value from last year.

Barring Sun Pharmaceuticals, all major pharmaceutical companies have yielded 25-40% returns in CY15. Lupin is the top performer with a 43.39% gain, while Aurobindo Pharma has gained 38.4%. Glenmark and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories gave nearly 30% return in CY15.

Experts said the rate of USFDA approvals has significantly picked up post the enactment of the Generic Drug User Fee Amendments (GDUFA) in 2012.

US-based investment banking firm Jefferies has observed that the approval rate in average abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) has risen to 49 approvals per month in the last five months, compared with historical average of 37 approvals per month. Indian companies are yet to fully benefit from the pick-up in ANDA approvals.

“The share of the Indian companies in approvals continues to remain muted, and in the first five months of FY16 stood at 28% versus historical average of 32%. This is because approvals for multiple companies are impacted due to Form 483s on their key plants,” said Piyush Nahar, an analyst with Jefferies.

Cross-border acquisitions and consolidation also have also helped Indian pharmaceutical companies grow their business and presence in Western markets. This, in turn, has kept investors’ interest buoyant in the sector given the future growth outlook.

Last month, Cipla had announced buyout of two US-based drug firms, InvaGen Pharma and Exelan Pharma, in a cash deal pegged at $550 million. Earlier, Lupin had acquired New Jersey-based generic drugs firm Gavis for $880 million to boost its presence in the US. This was the largest acquisition by any Indian pharmaceutical company in the US till date.

Barring healthcare stocks, investors have also preferred to invest in technology services companies, given the weakness in the Indian rupee. The CNX IT index has beaten the Nifty performance twice, and is likely to repeat its outperformance for CY15. So far, the IT index has yielded 4.04% returns with further scope for improvement. Infosys and TCS are top performers with 14.79% and 6.23% gains, respectively.

Many domestic and international brokerages have suggested that Q2FY15 will be a strong quarter for IT companies due to seasonal strength and favourable moves in the key currencies including the US dollar. “We expect a healthy quarter for top IT companies as they are expected to post a constant currency growth of 2.4-4.6% quarter on quarter,” said Kawaljeet Saluja, head of research at Kotak Institutional Equities.

Leading stock exchange BSE today said it has imposed a fine on 370 companies for not complying with Sebi norms to appoint at least one woman director on their respective boards within the prescribed timelines. (Reuters)

Leading stock exchange BSE today said it has imposed a fine on 370 companies for not complying with Sebi norms to appoint at least one woman director on their respective boards within the prescribed timelines.

The exchange had earlier issued notices to 530 companies in July for not complying with the provision by June 30.

The capital markets watchdog Sebi had issued guidelines in February last year asking companies to appoint at least one woman director on their boards by October 1, 2014, which was later relaxed to April 1, 2015.

In a statement BSE said it has “issued fresh advisory letters to 370 active companies regarding levy of fines for non-compliance with the said provision within the prescribed timelines of September 30, 2015.

Acting against listed firms without a mandatory woman director, market regulator Sebi in April announced a minimum Rs 50,000 fine and warned of further action, including against promoters and directors, if they remain non-compliant beyond six months.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) announced a four-stage penalty structure wherein fines would increase with the passage of time.

The listed companies complying between April 1 and June 30 will have to pay Rs 50,000. Those complying between July 1 and September 30 this year would need to pay Rs 50,000 and an additional Rs 1,000 per day till compliance.

The listed companies complying on or after October 1, 2015 will have to pay Rs 1.42 lakh, plus Rs 5,000 per day till the date of compliance.

For any non-compliance beyond September 30, 2015, Sebi may take any other action, against the non-compliant entities, their promoters and/or directors or issue such directions in accordance with law, as considered appropriate.