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Nifty above 17,150 mark, pharma stocks in demand

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Last Updated : Mar 15 2023 | 11:50 AM IST

The headline equity indices continued to trade with significant gains in mid-morning trade. The Nifty hovered above the 17,150 mark. Barring the Nifty FMCG index, all the sectoral indices on the NSE were in the green. Metal, pharma, healthcare and consumer durables stocks advanced.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 349.92 points or 0.60% to 58,250.11. The Nifty 50 index gained 113.35 points or 0.67% to 17,156.65.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.67% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.81%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,162 shares rose and 1,104 shares fell. A total of 125 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tumbled 5.68% to 15.30.

IPO Update:

Also Read

The initial public offer (IPO) of Global Surfaces received bids for 1,37,14,300 shares as against 77,49,000 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:24 IST on Wedensday (15 March 2023). The issue was subscribed 1.77 times.

The issue opened for bidding on Monday (13 March 2023) and it will close on Wednesday (15 March 2023). The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 133-140 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 100 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index rose 1.16% to 11,732.65. The index added 1.17% in two trading sessions.

Aurobindo Pharma (up 3.72%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 3.04%), Torrent Pharmaceuticals (up 2.5%), Biocon (up 2.46%), Divis Laboratories (up 1.49%), Dr Reddys Laboratories (up 1.46%), Granules India (up 1.44%), Lupin (up 1.44%), Laurus Labs (up 1.24%) and Cipla (up 1.14%) advanced.

On the other hand, Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.55%), Ipca Laboratories Ld (down 0.52%) and Natco Pharma (down 0.5%) edged lower.

Cipla rose 1.12%. The company and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Cipla (EU), UK and Meditab Holdings, Mauritius, have entered into a Share Purchase Agreement with Africa Capitalworks SSA 3 for sale of 51.18% stake held in Cipla Quality Chemical Industries (CQCIL), Uganda. Subsequent to the sale, CQCIL will cease to be a subsidiary of the company.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) shed 0.49%. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of METRO Cash and Carry India by Reliance Retail Ventures, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. In a statement released yesterday, the competition regulator said: The proposed combination involves acquisition of 100% of the issued and paid-up equity share capital of METRO Cash and Carry India (target) by the Reliance Retail Ventures (acquirer). Shares of index heavyweight RIL hit 52-week low of Rs 2,263 during intraday today.

TVS Motor Company added 0.17%. The company said that its board has approved the allotment of non convertible debentures (NCDs) aggregating to Rs 125 crore on private placement basis. The tenure of the NCDs is 3 years and date of maturity is on 13 March 2026.

GMR Airports Infrastructure rallied 3.52% after the company said that its board will consider raising of funds through appropriate instruments in a meeting on Friday, 17 March 2023.

Global Markets:

Most Asian stocks traded higher on Wednesday after bank stocks on Wall Street rebounded on optimism of contagion risk from Silicon Valley Bank being contained.

China's industrial output rose 2.4% in the January to February period, official data showed. Retail sales rose 3.5% for the same period. The People's Bank of China kept the rate on 481 billion yuan of one-year medium-term lending facility loans at 2.75%.

US stocks bounced back on Tuesday as largely on-target inflation data and easing jitters over contagion in the banking sector cooled expectations regarding the size of the rate hike at the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week.

Underlying US consumer prices rose in February by the most in five months. The consumer price index, excluding food and energy, increased 0.5% last month and 5.5% from a year earlier, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data out Tuesday. The overall CPI climbed 0.4% in February and 6% from a year earlier.

Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday revised its outlook on the US banking system to "negative" from "stable", citing heightened risks for the sector after the rapid unraveling of SVB Financial Group fueled fears of contagion. Moody's also said it was expecting the Federal Reserve to continue tightening monetary policy, in contrast to some others who are expecting the bank collapses this month to reshape the trajectory for interest rate hikes.

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First Published: Mar 15 2023 | 11:36 AM IST

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