Shares held firm at higher levels after hitting fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. At 11:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 247.28 points or 0.72% at 34,389.43. The Nifty 50 index was up 75.40 points or 0.72% at 10,566.45. Positive global cues boosted investors' sentiment.
The market opened on a positive note and extended gains as the session progressed. The Sensex rose 292.91 points, or 0.86% at the day's high of 34,435.06 in mid-morning trade, its highest level since 16 February 2018. The index rose 83.57 points, or 0.24% at the day's low of 34,225.72 in early trade. The Nifty rose 87.65 points, or 0.84% at the day's high of 10,578.70 in mid-morning trade, its highest level since 16 February 2018. The index rose 29.15 points, or 0.28% at the day's low of 10,520.20 in early trade.
Overseas, Asian shares were trading higher. US stocks rallied on Friday, 23 February 2018, to end a bumpy week with slight gains, as falling bond yields provided a reprieve for investors concerned about rising inflation.
The focus this week is on the US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell's congressional testimony on monetary policy and the economy. Powell will testify on the central bank's semi-annual report on monetary policy and the economy on Tuesday, 27 February 2018, before the US House of Representatives' Financial Services Committee.
Back home, the broad market depicted strength. There were more than two gainers against every loser on BSE. 1,599 shares rose and 788 shares fell. A total of 144 shares were unchanged.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.67%, underperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.77%, outperforming the Sensex.
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IT shares were mixed. Oracle Financial Services Software (down 1.9%), TCS (down 1.18%), Infosys (down 1.13%), Hexaware Technologies (down 0.89%), Tech Mahindra (down 0.48%) and Wipro (down 0.32%), edged lower. MphasiS (up 0.20%), HCL Technologies (up 0.27%), MindTree (up 0.91%) and Persistent Systems (up 2.20%), edged higher.
Most pharmaceutical shares rose. Alkem Laboratories (up 1.07%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (up 1.05%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 0.87%), Lupin (up 0.87%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 0.80%), Piramal Enterprises (up 0.68%), IPCA Laboratories (up 0.40%), Wockhardt (up 0.32%), Cipla (up 0.26%) and Cadila Healthcare (up 0.12%), edged higher. Divi's Laboratories (down 1.1%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 1.43%) and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 1.47%), edged lower.
Strides Shasun was up 2%. Strides Shasun announced during trading hours today, 26 February 2018, that it will launch Ranitidine Tablets USP, 150 mg (OTC) in the US markets. Strides is already a key player in the US Ranitidine Rx market with 32% market share through its approval for Ranitidine Tablets USP, 150 mg and 300 mg. The new launch will further strengthen company's Ranitidine franchise. According to IRI data, the US OTC market for Ranitidine Tablets, which is the generic form of the popular brand Zantac, is approximately $200 Million.
This is the first product approval from company's 50:50 JV with Vivimed Labs. The product will be backward integrated and will be manufactured at the JV's Oral dosage facility in Chennai. Strides will have exclusive marketing rights for the product in the US. The product will be launched immediately. The company has 82 cumulative ANDA filings with USFDA (including it's JV with Vivimed) of which 50 ANDAs have been approved as of date and 32 are pending approval.
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