Market extends gains, pharma shares in demand

The domestic equity benchmarks continued to extend gains in early-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 21,700 level after hitting the day�s low of 21,448.85 in early trade. Pharma shares advanced after declining in the past trading session.

At 12:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 628 points or 0.88% to 71,767.90. The Nifty 50 index gained 186.60 points or 0.87% to 21,708.70.

The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 1.03% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 1.39%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,388 shares rose and 1,343 shares fell. A total of 112 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, slipped 1.38% to 15.88. The Nifty 29 February 2024 futures were trading at 21,782.80, at a premium of 114.25 points as compared with the spot at 21,668.55.

The Nifty option chain for the 29 February 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 34.6 lakh contracts at the 23,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 31 lakh contracts were seen at 21,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index rallied 2.35% to 17,881.05. The index shed 0.87% in the past trading sessions.

Dr Reddy`s Laboratories (up 4.78%), Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries (up 3.11%), Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals (up 2.84%), Abbott India (up 2.82%), Divis Laboratories (up 2.49%), Gland Pharma (up 2.38%), Cipla (up 2.35%), Laurus Labs (up 2.31%), Alkem Laboratories (up 2.01%) and Torrent Pharmaceuticals (up 1.88%) edged higher.

Dr Reddy`s Laboratories rallied 4.78% after the drug major`s consolidated net profit increased 10.57% to Rs 1,378.9 crore on 6.57% rise in revenues to Rs 7,214.8 crore in Q3 FY24 over Q3 FY23. The revenue growth was primarily driven by market share gains for existing products in North America and continuation of growth journey in Europe.

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