The benchmark indices traded with minor cuts in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 17,950 mark after hitting the day's high of 17,959.30 in mid-morning trade. Pharma stocks extended losses for the third consecutive trading session.
At 12:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 89.91 points or 0.15% to 60,942.35. The Nifty 50 index shed 21.40 points or 0.12% to 17,908.45.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.15% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.02%
The market breadth turned negative. On the BSE, 1,574 shares rose and 1,729 shares fell. A total of 175 shares were unchanged.
Investor sentiment took a hit after stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation readings ramped up fears of more hawkish moves from the Federal Reserve. The U.S. consumer price index data for January showed that inflation remained resilient despite a slew of interest rate hikes by the Fed. Regional central banks are also expected to raise rates to keep up with the Fed, further tightening the liquidity conditions.
Derivatives:
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tumbled 5.18% to 12.76. The Nifty 23 February 2023 futures were trading at 17,944.40, at a premium of 35.95points as compared with the spot at 17,908.45.
The Nifty option chain for the 23 February 2023 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 43.5 lakh contracts at the 18,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 43.6 lakh contracts were seen at 17,500 strike price.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Pharma index fell 0.34% to 12,207.45, extending losses for the third session. The index shed 0.97% in three trading sessions.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 1.37%), Biocon (down 0.94%), Gland Pharma (down 0.88%), Ipca Laboratories (down 0.85%), Zydus Lifesciences (down 0.75%), Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries (down 0.7%), Torrent Pharmaceuticals (down 0.54%), Dr Reddys Laboratories (down 0.47%), Granules India (down 0.35%) and Cipla (down 0.33%) edged lower.
On the other hand, Natco Pharma (up 1.36%) ,Alkem Laboratories (up 0.81%) and Divis Laboratories (up 0.46%) advanced.
Biocon shed 0.94% after the biopharmaceutical company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 41.80 crore in Q3 FY23 as against a net profit of Rs 187.10 crore in Q3 FY22. Revenue from operations jumped 35.3% year on year to Rs 2,941.10 in the quarter ended 31 December 2022.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Vodafone Idea rose 0.52%. The debt-ridden telco reported net loss of Rs 7,990 crore in Q3 December 2022, higher than net loss of Rs 7230.90 crore in Q3 December 2021. The company's net loss stood at Rs 7,595.50 crore in Q2 September 2023. Net sales rose 9.2% year-on-year to Rs 10,613 crore in Q3 December 2022, aided by improvement in subscriber mix, tariff intervention and 4G subscriber additions.
ARPU (average revenue per user) improved to Rs 135, up 3.3% QoQ versus Rs 131 in Q2 FY23. On a YoY basis, ARPU witnessed strong growth of 17.4% aided by tariff hikes and migration of subscribers to unlimited plans.
PI Industries gained 1.55% after the company reported 58% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 351.80 crore on 18.9% rise in revenue to Rs 1,613.20 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22.
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