Broader market outperforms; pharma shares edge lower

The key equity indices traded in a narrow range in mid-morning trade. The Nifty continued to trade above the 18,300 level after hitting the day`s low at 18,289.35 in morning trade. Pharma shares witnessed significant selling pressure.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 54.96 points or 0.09% to 61,995.16. The Nifty 50 index added 15.85 points or 0.09% to 18,330.95.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.38% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.72%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2121 shares rose and 1153 shares fell. A total of 159 shares were unchanged.

On the political front, the Congress party is reportedly likely to get a majority of the seats in Karnataka, predicted various exit polls. The majority mark in the 224-seat Karnataka assembly stands at 113 seats. The results of the election will be declared on May 13.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index fell 1.04% to 12,584.75. The index had advanced 0.86% in the past three sessions.

Aurobindo Pharma (down 2.23%), Natco Pharma (down 1.31%), Alkem Laboratories (down 1.1%) and Zydus Lifesciences (down 1.07%) were the top losers.

Among the other losers were Laurus Labs (down 0.93%), Divis Laboratories (down 0.74%), Torrent Pharmaceuticals (down 0.46%) and Cipla (down 0.41%).

On the other hand, Sanofi India (up 4.38%), Ipca Laboratories (up 1.53%) and Pfizer (up 1.18%) moved up.

Dr Reddys Laboratories slumped 6.48%. The drug major reported consolidated net profit of Rs 959.2 crore in Q4 FY23, which was steeply higher than Rs 87.5 crore reported in Q4 FY22. Revenues increased 15.82% year on year to Rs 6,296.8 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2023.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Hindalco Industries fell 2.93%. The company`s wholly-owned subsidiary Novelis Inc has reported a 27% fall in net income to $156 million for the quarter ended 31 March 2023. The company had posted a net income of $215 million in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. Net sales decreased 9% YoY to $4.4 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023.

Gujarat Gas jumped 5.38%. The gas distribution company`s standalone net profit declined 16.9% to Rs 369.22 crore on 15.9% fall in net sales to Rs 3,928.57 crore in Q4 FY23 over Q4 FY22.

Ratnamani Metals & Tubes surged 9.89%. The company`s consolidated net profit jumped 71.59% to Rs 191.55 crore on 53.90% increase in net sales to Rs 1499.08 crore in Q4 March 2023 over Q4 March 2022.

H.G. Infra Engineering rose 3%. The company`s net profit jumped 64.43% to Rs 170.92 crore on 44.22% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 1,535.43 crore in Q4 FY23 over Q4 FY22.

Global markets:

Asian stocks are trading mixed after Wall Street saw a tech rally as U.S. consumer price index rose less than expected for April.

China`s consumer price index rose 0.1% in April year-on-year, the slowest since early 2021. Month-on-month, prices declined by 0.1%. April`s reading comes after China`s inflation rate eased to 0.7% in March after marking a recent peak of 2.8% in September.

US stock markets closed mixed on Wednesday on lower-than-expected growth in inflation in April.

US inflation was slightly weaker than forecast in April. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 4.9% from April 2022 to April 2023, Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed on Wednesday. That`s just below the 5.0% forecast and under the year-over-year percent increase of 5.0% in March.

The White House said in a statement on Wednesday that easing gas and food prices were providing �some welcome breathing room for families� at a time when the US economy and job market are strong.

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