Pharma shares rally amid rangebound trade; Lupin up 6%

Lupin was the top Sensex gainer on USFDA nod for cardiovascular drug

Markets continued to remain rangebound in late morning trades as gains in pharma shares helped offset losses in index heavyweights Reliance Industries and Infosys. Further, weakness in Asian stocks on concerns over slowing economic growth in China also dampened investor sentiment.

At 11:40M, the 30-share Sensex was down 6 points at 27,925 and the 50-share Nifty was down 15 points at 8,480.

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap was trading flat while Small-cap index was trading with marginal losses.

CRUDE OIL

The US oil price tumbled to a fresh six-year low on Wednesday on the latest sign of a glut in crude supplies.

RUPEE

The Indian rupee was trading flat with positive bias at 65.20 against the US dollar after on fresh selling of dollars by banks and exporters.

SECTORS & STOCKS

Defensive sectors such as IT & Healthcare were up 2% while IT and Metal were the top losers down over 1.5% each.

Pharma major Lupin was the top Sensex gainer up 6% after it said it has received approval from USFDA for Fenofibrate tablets in dosages of 160 mg and 54 mg. Fenofibrate is mainly used to reduce cholesterol levels in patients at risk of cardiovascular disease.

Sun Pharmaceutical was up 3.5% after it announced  that the USFDA has approved its supplemental new drug application for Ximino extended release capsules dispensed for inflammatory lesions of non-nodular moderate to severe acne. Among others, Dr Reddy's Labs and Cipla were up 0.8-1.6% each.

Oil shares trimmed early gains and were trading with losses amid falling global crude oil prices. Reliance Industries was down over 1%. The company received approval to set up payments bank. ONGC was down 2.1%.

Bharti Airtel was up 1% while Aditya Birla Nuvo was up 0.5% were among thise which received 'in principle' approval for setting up payments banks.

Metal stocks are losing sheen on the back of Chinese economic slowdown. Tata Steel, Hindalco and Vedanta have dropped between 0.5-1.5%.

IT shares which had rallied in the previous sessions on the back of a weakening rupee witnessed profit taking. Infosys, TCS and Wipro were down 0.3-3% each.

Other Sensex losers include, Axis Bank, Tata Motors and L&T among others.