Market Wrap, August 14: Sensex ends 353 pts higher; pharma stocks slip

·         Markets make a strong comeback, Sensex surges 353 points while Nifty reclaims 11,000-mark to end at 11,029, up 104             points on across-the-board buying;

·         Nifty Pharma index hits 5-year low; Glenmark at 7-year low post Q1 results;

·         HDFC Life Insurance slumped 7% post block deal, but recovered later

Benchmark indices ended nearly a per cent higher on Wednesday amid across-the-board buying and positive global cues. Investor sentiment got a major boost as the US President Donald Trump's decision to delay imposition of additional tariff on Chinese imports doused trade-war concerns. Further, benign inflation back home, opened room for more rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex settled at 37,311 levels, up 353 points or 0.96 per cent, lifted by Reliance Industries, Infosys, ICICI Bank, and HDFC. Vedanta, Tata Steel, YES Bank, and Tech Mahindra were the top gainers on the index, while Sun Pharma, ONGC, Tata Motors, and Asian Paints emerged as the top laggards. The broader Nifty50 added 104 points, or 0.95 per cent, to end at 11,029.

On the sectoral front, all the sectors, except pharmaceuticals, ended the day with gains. Nifty Pharma index shed 4 per cent in the intra-day trade to hit a 5-year low on BSE. The index ended 1.4 per cent lower.

On the contrary, Nifty metal was the top gainer, up over 2 per cent, followed by Nifty public sector bank index, up over 1 per cent.

In the broader market, S&P BSE mid-cap settled at 13,487 level, up 124 points or 0.93 per cent. The S&P BSE small-cap, on the other hand, closed at 12,580 levels, up 61 points or 0.48 per cent.

Among individual stocks, shares of HDFC Life Insurance Company slumped as much as 7.5 per cent to Rs 490 apiece on the BSE in the early trade on Wednesday after reports said co-promoter Standard Life sold more than 3 per cent stake in the company via block deal. The stock, however, pared losses to end at Rs 515.20, down just 0.75 per cent.

On the other hand, Dixon Technologies surged 19 per cent in the intra-day trade on the back of strong June quarter results before settling at Rs 2,347, up over 18 per cent.

That's all we have for you in today's post-market podcast. For the latest news on business, markets, and more, please log on to Business-Standard.com