Nifty below 17,950 mark, Pharma stocks slip

The headline equity indices traded with moderate losses in the mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below 17,950 mark. Auto, PSU banks and oil & gas stocks advanced while media, IT and pharma stocks edged lower. Trading was volatile due to the expiry of weekly index options on the NSE today.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 204.98 points or 0.34% to 60,141.99. The Nifty 50 index declined 67.35 points or 0.37% to 17,936.40

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.33% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.31%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,701 shares rose and 1,743 shares fell. A total of 138 shares were unchanged.

Fitch slashes India`s FY23 GDP growth forecast to 7% from 7.8%:

Fitch Global Ratings has cut India`s GDP growth forecast expecting a global slowdown and tighter monetary policy. The ratings agency now expects the Indian economy to grow at 7% in FY23 compared with its previous estimates of 7.8%, according to its report on the global growth outlook. The estimates for FY24 have also been cut to 6.7% against 7.4% earlier.

Economy:

The Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that the Telecom Sector in the country will witness more reforms in coming years and asserted that the industry too will have to do its bit and reciprocate by improving quality of service significantly. He was addressing the Annual Flagship Event 2022 of Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA), an apex industry body representing Digital Infrastructure providers industry in India.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 7.219 as compared with 7.155 at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee was lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 79.6775, compared with its close of 79.52 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 October 2022 settlement declined 0.44% to Rs 49,798.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, shed 0.03% to 109.63.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for November 2022 settlement fell 64 cents or 0.68% at $93.46 a barrel.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index fell 1.19% to 12,531.80. The index lost 1.68% in two trading sessions.

Laurus Labs (down 2.63%), Gland Pharma (down 2.44%), Cipla (down 2.32%), Biocon (down 2.01%), Divis Laboratories (down 1.86%), Dr Reddys Laboratories (down 1.28%), Zydus Lifesciences (down 1.17%), Aurobindo Pharma (down 1.08%), Natco Pharma (down 0.92%) and Strides Pharma Science (down 0.86%) edged lower.

On the other hand, Granules India (up 1.99%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 0.89%) and Alembic Pharmaceuticals (up 0.18%) advanced.

Alkem Laboratories shed 0.81%. The pharmaceutical company announced that the USFDA had issued Form 483 was issued to us with 2 observations after the pre-approval inspection of its St.Louis facility. The company said that its manufacturing facility at St.Louis, USA was inspected by United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) from 6 September 2022 to 14 September 2022. At the end of the inspection, the pharmaceutical company was issued a Form 483 with 2 observations by the US drug regulator.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News