Asian stock markets are lower today as Japanese and Hong Kong shares fall. The Nikkei 225 is off 0.36% while the Hang Seng is down 0.11%. The Shanghai Composite is trading down by 0.28%. Overnight US stocks closed lower as investors weighed tax reform.

Back home, Indian share markets opened the day on a flattish note. The BSE Sensex opened lower by 60 points while the NSE Nifty opened down by 13 points. The S&P BSE Mid Cap and  S&P BSE Small Cap are trading up by 0.3% & 0.2% respectively. The rupee was trading at Rs 64.93 against the US$.

Sectoral indices opened the day on a mixed note with information technology stocks and energy stocks leading the losses. While, consumer durables stocks & capital goods stocks have opened in green.

Axis Bank share price surged 3.4% in the early trade on the reports that Bain Capital is in advanced talks with the Bank to invest between US$750 million and US$1 billion in what could be one of the largest private equity investments in the Indian banking sector.

Pharma stocks opened the day on a mixed note with Indoco Remedies and Orchid Pharma leading the losses. As per article in a leading financial daily, Zydus Cadila received approval from the US health regulator to market Clobetasol Propionate ointment. The ointment is used to treat a range of skin conditions.

The company has received final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market its product in the American market.

The ointment will be manufactured at the company’s Ahmedabad-based facility.

Notably, the Zydus group has now more than 165 product approvals.

One shall note that, Indian pharma companies catering to the US markets are breathing a sigh of relief. After being adversely affected by import bans and the suspension of new drug approvals from manufacturing facilities in the past three years, there has been a sharp pick-up in new drug approvals in FY17.