Key benchmarks hit fresh intraday low; pharma shares snap 8-day wining streak

The key equity benchmarks extended their downtrend and hit fresh intraday low in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 17,750 mark. Pharma shares witnessed some bit of profit booking after advancing in the past eight sessions. Trading was volatile due to expiry of weekly index options on the NSE.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 282.37 points or 0.47% to 60,110.40. The Nifty 50 index lost 74.20 points or 0.42% to 17,738.20.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index traded flat while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.04%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1629 shares rose and 1680 shares fell. A total of 131 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

According to the official data released on Wednesday, India`s retail inflation or the consumer price index (CPI) for March eased to a 15-month low of 5.66% from 6.44% in February.

India`s industrial output, as measured by the index of Industrial production or IIP, in February rose 5.6% year on year, data from the Ministry of Statistics showed today. The index of industrial production (IIP) expanded by 5.2% in January after rising 4.3% in December.

Derivatives:

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, advanced 0.75% to 12.37. The Nifty 27 April 2023 futures were trading at 17,784.85, at a premium of 46.65 points as compared with the spot at 17,738.20.

The Nifty option chain for the 27 April 2023 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 57.9 lakh contracts at the 18,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 59.8 lakh contracts were seen at 17,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index shed 0.63% to 12,494.55. The index had advanced 5.90% in the past eight sessions.

Laurus Labs (down 2.46%), Granules India (down 1.66%), Ipca Laboratories (down 1.32%), Natco Pharma (down 1.13%) and Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries (down 1.06%) were the top losers.

Among the other losers were Dr Reddys Laboratories (down 0.94%), Lupin (down 0.88%), Divis Laboratories (down 0.84%), Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.63%) and Gland Pharma (down 0.6%).

On the other hand, Torrent Pharmaceuticals (up 1.03%), Alkem Laboratories (up 0.92%) and Aurobindo Pharma (up 0.42%) turned up.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) rose 0.24%. BHEL said that it has signed a MoU with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) to jointly pursue business opportunities around nuclear power plants based on pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) technology.

Ashok Leyland added 0.80%. The commercial vehicle manufacturer has announced the launch of its e-marketplace for used commercial vehicles "Re-AL�. The marketplace will aid customers in exchanging used vehicles and upgrading them to new Ashok Leyland trucks and buses, the Hinduja Group company said.

KPI Green Energy advanced 0.77%. The company said that it has executed joint business development agreement with Tristar Transport LLC for the development of eco-friendly energy solutions across multiple regions. The agreement involves the utilization of respective expertise of both the parties to identify and execute renewable energy projects, such as wind, solar, green hydrogen, and green ammonia projects across regions, which include India, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, America, and Europe.

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