Key benchmarks trimmed gains in mid-morning trade. At 11:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 261.01 points or 0.70% at 37,382.23. The Nifty 50 index was up 79.25 points or 0.71% at 11,313.60.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.27%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.01%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1199 shares rose and 1113 shares fell. A total of 140 shares were unchanged.
IT shares were mixed. Infosys (down 1.79%), Tech Mahindra (down 1.38%), MindTree (down 1.16%), MphasiS (down 0.51%), HCL Technologies (down 0.46%) and TCS (down 0.41%), edged lower. Wipro (up 0.39%), Hexaware Technologies (up 0.53%), Oracle Financial Services Software (up 0.65%) and Persistent Systems (up 0.93%), edged higher.
Most pharmaceutical shares rose. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 0.90%), Cipla (up 0.85%), Divi's Laboratories (up 0.70%), Lupin (up 0.68%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 0.52%), Cadila Healthcare (up 0.52%), Piramal Enterprises (up 0.49%), Alkem Laboratories (up 0.31%) and GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (up 0.16%), edged higher. IPCA Laboratories (down 0.09%), Wockhardt (down 0.39%) and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 0.43%), edged lower.
Strides Pharma Science rose 2.69%. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced that it 'has decided not to oppose the merger of generic pharmaceutical companies Arrow and Apotex,' after finding the transaction would not substantially lessen competition in any market.
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In May 2018, Strides Pharma Science and Apotex Inc. announced their intention to merge Arrow Pharmaceuticals and Apotex Australia into a new company, one that will provide Australian customers with unparalleled service and support.
Strides and Apotex welcomed the ACCC's decision to clear the merger of Arrow Pharmaceuticals and Apotex Australia. The transaction remains subject to the conclusion of definitive agreements, Board approval and the satisfaction of certain other conditions, including approval from the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board. The announcement was made on Thursday, 20 September 2018.
Overseas, Asia markets traded in positive territory on the final trading day of the week, following record highs on Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei 225 advanced by 0.63%. The moves came following after a data release earlier showed that the country's nationwide core consumer price index for the month of August rose 0.9% compared to a year ago.
In US, trade-sensitive industrial stocks led the gains on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.95% while the S&P 500 gained 0.78%, both hitting record highs.
The latest rally comes after new US and Chinese tariffs on each other's goods were set at lower rates this week than previously expected, raising hopes that hostilities between the world's two largest economies may be easing. Despite the trade risks, the outlook on corporate profit remained solid in many markets on the back of strong global growth, keeping equity valuations relatively attractive.
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