Nifty, Sensex close slightly higher, but pharma stocks bleed on Teva fallout
BSE Sensex closed higher by 88 points, or 0.27%, to 32,325, while the Nifty 50 rose 53 points, to 10,066. Here are the latest updates and developments from the markets
Mumbai: A surge in consumer durables and oil and gas stocks on Friday saved the day for the Sensex, which closed up at 32,325, reversing its two-day slide.
Investors liquidating short positions, coupled with a firm trend in Europe, supported the late recovery, helping erase the initial losses.
The 30-share index started on a bearish note, but late buying helped it settle up 87.53 points, or 0.27%, at 32,325.41. The gauge had lost 337 points in the previous two days.
The NSE Nifty was above the 10,000 mark at the close at 10,066.40, up 52.75 points -- or 0.53% -- after hitting a high of 10,075.25. On a weekly basis, the BSE managed to sign off with gains for the fifth straight week by rising 15.53 points, or 0.04%. NSE too ended up 51.90 points, or 0.51%.
Drugmakers, including Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, dropped the most on the Sensex and the Nifty, after Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the world’s biggest maker of generic medicines, slashed its profit forecast for the second time this year amid an acceleration in price erosion and delays in US product approvals.
“Retail and consumer goods sector showed signs of recovery... Tomorrow’s GST Council meeting to revise rates on agro-services will keep traders interested," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services. Results of some blue-chip companies exceeded expectations, providing additional thrust, traders said.
In the Sensex chart, Hero MotoCorp blazed a trail, gaining the most by 3.11% on the back of encouraging earnings numbers.
Coal India jumped 3.04% and Tata Steel 2.85%. Consumer durables hit it big, with a rise of 4.21%, followed by oil and gas and metal. Healthcare was not as lucky, plunging 0.94%. Pharma shares such as Dr Reddy’s, Sun Pharma and Lupin fell by up to 3.76%.
The broader market outperformed the key indices. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers of shares worth ₹ 24.07 crore while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) pulled out shares of ₹ 389.34 crore yesterday, showed provisional data. Shares in Asia threw up a mixed trend. However, Europe firmed up in early trade.
“The markets are overvalued and something from the left field will happen to bring them down," said Andrew Holland, chief executive officer at Avendus Capital Ltd. in Mumbai. “We are waiting for the bubble to burst and the markets will be range-bound till that happens."
India’s key gauges are the best performers this year among the major Asian markets after the Hang Seng Index. They have only twice dropped more than 1% in a day in 2017. Here are the latest updates
With inputs from Bloomberg
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!