Share markets in India ended flat ahead of key corporate results and as profit booking in index heavyweights capped gains. At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex closed lower by 24 points. While, the NSE Nifty finished higher by 4 points. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Midcap Index finished up by 0.4% while the S&P BSE Small Cap Index ended up by 0.5%.

BSE sectoral indices ended the day on a mixed note. Among them, realty sector gained the most by 0.8%, followed by oil & gas sector 0.8%, while banking sector & information technology sector both finished down by 0.2% & 0.1% respectively.

Cipla, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, Bajaj Auto, were among top gainers, whereas Axis Bank, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance and Dr Reddy's Labs lost a percent each.

Overseas, Asian equity markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.38% and the Hang Seng rose 0.02%. The Shanghai Composite lost 0.19%. European markets are mixed today. The FTSE 100 is up 0.09% while the DAX gains 0.07%. The CAC 40 is off 0.21%.

The rupee was trading at Rs 64.92 against the US$ in the afternoon session. Oil prices were trading at US$ 52.14 at the time of writing.

Aurobindo Pharma share price rose 1.5% after the company said it has received final approval from the USFDA to manufacture a therapeutic equivalent generic version of AstraZeneca's Nexium 24HR Capsules.

Automobile stocks ended the day on a mixed note with TVS Motors and Tata Motors witnessing maximum selling pressure. Bajaj Auto reported results for second quarter ended 30 September 2017.

The company reported a marginal fall of 1% in its net profit at Rs 11.1 billion for the quarter ended 30 September2017 as compared to Rs 11.2 billion for the same quarter in the previous year.

However, the total income of the company increased marginally by 1.3% at Rs 68.6 billion for Q2FY18 as compared Rs 67.7 billion for the corresponding quarter previous year.

On consolidate basis, the company reported a marginal fall of 0.6% in its net profit at Rs 11.9 billion for the quarter under review as compared to Rs 12 billion for the corresponding quarter in the FY17.

The month saw Bajaj Auto recording its highest monthly sale of 4,28,752 units. Sale volume for each month has progressively improved and the company has achieved a 14% growth in September.

For international market, the company reported 6% YoY growth in volumes at Rs 402575 units. The relative slowdown in Sri Lanka has been compensated by a substantial growth in volume in Bangladesh and Philippines.

The decline for the fourth straight quarter was led by weak motorcycle volumes in the domestic and overseas markets and higher input costs, the reports noted.

To know more about the company, you can access to Bajaj Auto's latest result analysis and Bajaj Auto stock analysis on our website.

Bajaj Auto share price ended up by 1.1%.

Moving on to the news from the cement sector. ACC Ltd's quarterly profit more than doubled, beating street's expectations, helped by strong cement sales volume growth.

Profit rose to Rs 1.8 billion (US$28.0 million) in third quarter ended 30 September, from Rs 0.9 billion a year earlier.

Further, cement sales volume rose about 18% to 5.96 million tonnes in the quarter.

Reportedly, sales volume growth was aided by capacity stabilization of the Jamul plant in Chhattisgarh and the Sindri plant in Jharkhand.

Speaking of the cement companies in India, if one were to go by the numbers as reported by Business Standard, the valuations of the Indian cement companies are obscenely expensive.

Cement Companies Increasing Leverage

Globally, cement makers are valued at 26x their latest annual earnings and 1.6x times their latest book value. The corresponding ratio for Chinese players is 23x and 0.95x respectively. On the other hand, Indian cement makers are valued at 48 times their net profit in the last financial year.

Here's what Tanushree Banerjee, Co-head of Research has to say about the sector:

• "There is no denying the performance of the cement companies have shown improvement off late. However, the current valuations certainly warrant a caution. For readers who are looking forward to commit their money in cement stocks should factor in realistic growth expectations.
  
  One would do better to look into long term growth for every cement company. And then judge whether the valuations are reasonable enough. If not, then it is best to stay away from the sector."

So, what is key to identifying potential multibagger stocks? How does one pick them at the right time and ride them to their full potential? How many multibaggers do you really need to achieve the big riches that you desire?

ACC share price ended up by 0.5%.

And here's a note from Profit Hunter:

Cipla Ltd. is currently among the most active stocks in the market - up 4%. Let's take a look at its chart below.

The last time we reviewed this stock, it was trading at a strong resistance zone of 615 - 620. We've mentioned before that this zone remains a big concern for the bulls. In fact, the stock plunged more than 20% from that level to touch a low of 480 in May 2017.

The zone acted as a resistance in September 2016 and February 2017. And, it has known to provide support a number of times in 2015.

Today, the stock broke above this important zone with strong volumes.

Does this mean that the stock will soon challenge its lifetime high of 752? Let's wait and watch...

Cipla Breaks Important Resistance

(Click on image to enlarge)