Defensive stocks slump in post-QE3 reaction

Cigarette maker ITC falls 0.8%, while personal care products maker Marico falls 1.6%

Shares of defensive sectors such as drug makers and consumer goods drop as investors bet the Fed's new asset purchase programme will favour cyclicals and high beta stocks.

Among drug makers, Lupin falls 4.3 percent while Glenmark Pharma is down 3.6 percent.

Cigarette maker ITC falls 0.8 percent, while personal care products maker Marico falls 1.6 percent.

Defensive sectors had recently shined, with the NSE pharma sub-index up 24.7 percent this year as of Thursday's close and the NSE fast-moving consumer goods sub-index up 36 percent in the same period.

Instead, investors preferring cyclical stocks such as Infosys, up 2.2 percent, or stocks that have recently been beaten-down stocks such as IVRC Ltd, which jumps 7.2 percent after slumping 27.3 percent over July and August.