After opening the day marginally higher, share markets in India erased early gains and are trading below the dotted line. Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note with stocks in the pharma sector and stocks in the metal sectortrading in green, while stocks in the IT sector are leading the losses.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 44 points (down 0.1%), and the NSE Nifty is trading lower by 11 points (down 0.1%). Meanwhile, the BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.2%, while the BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.3%. The rupee is trading at 64.36 to the US$.

In news from stocks in the finance sector. HDFC Ltd share price is among the top gainers on the bourses today as the mortgage lender plans to raise Rs 20 billion through a private placement basis today.

HDFC Ltd, which is the largest mortgage lender in the country, said it will issue secured redeemable non-convertible debentures on a private placement basis to raise a total of Rs 20 billion.

The issue opens today, and will close today itself. HDFC said only the persons who are specifically addressed through a communication are eligible to apply for the debentures. No other persons can apply.

The company plans to use the proceeds of the issue to shore up long term capital and for financing/refinancing the housing finance business requirements of the Corporation.

The bonds carrying coupon rate of 7.6% are set to mature in June 2020.

At the time of writing, HDFC ltd share price was trading up by 2%.

Moving on to news from stocks in the pharma space. Most pharma stocks are among the top gainers in the exchanges today, with Dr Reddy’s share price leading the gains.

The up move was triggered as Dr Reddys Labs (DRL) announced that it had launched Bivalirudin injection after receiving final approval form the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) approval.

Bivalirudin injection is used to prevent blood clots in people suffering from severe chest pain and those who are undergoing angioplasty. It is a therapeutic equivalent generic version of Angiomax for injection.