Pharma shares boost markets; Sensex up over 100 points

Pharma shares were led by Lupin which gained following acquisition in Russia

Markets continued to trade firm in noon trades as investors shrugged off the developments in Greece while signs of recovery in growth and pick up in investments also boosted sentiment.

At 1:10PM, the 30-share Sensex was up 152 points at 28,097 and the 50-share Nifty was up 37 points at 8,482.

In the broader markets, the BSE Mid-cap index was marginally down while Small-cap index was trading flat with positive bias. Market breadth was strong with 1,657 losers and 1,111 gainers on the BSE.

The rupee is trading higher at 63.39 compared to the previous close of 63.51 to the US dollar tracking gains in domestic equities.

ECONOMY

The RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Thursday said that growth is recovering and investment is picking up; he, however, maintained a cautious stance on inflation expectations.

GLOBAL EVENTS

Meanwhile, all eyes would be in Greece on Sunday ahead of the voting on referendum, which could provide some clarity on whether the cash strapped nation would be a part of European Union or not. In related views, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned in the preliminary draft of its latest debt sustainability report that Greece would need an extension of its European Union loans and a large debt write-off if it grows more slowly than expected and economic reforms are not implemented.

SECTORS AND STOCKS

Capital Goods index was the top gainer up nearly 1% followed by Healthcare, FMCG and Bankex among others.

Engineering major L&T was up 0.8% after the company said it has won orders worth Rs 1,885 crore. BHEL was up nearly 2%.

Lupin was up nearly 2% after announcing the acquisition of a 100% equity stake in ZAO “Biocom” in Russia. Sun Pharma, Cipla and Dr Reddy's Labs were up 1% each.

Tata Motors was down 1% on weak JLR sales during the month of June. JLR sales in June 2015 declined to 150 units compared to 375 units in June 2014, the company said in a release.

Among other shares, Shares of Salora International were up over 4% at Rs 61 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the board at its meeting held on July 02, 2015 approved to set-up a manufacturing line for commercial production of mobile phones at the company's factory premises at Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

Shares of Steel Strips Wheels were up over 2% at Rs 298 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company reported robust sales in June driven by the truck segment.

Shares of Bajaj Finance were trading higher by 3% at Rs 5,587, extending their month-long rally on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The stock hit a lifetime high of Rs 5,596 in intra-day trades, rallying by 30% in the past one month from Rs 4,317 on June 3. The S&P BSE Sensex gained 4% during the same period.