Markets hold gains; pharma shares buck the trend

Markets continue to trade with gains with Nifty comfortably holing to its 7,500 mark led by broad-based buying across the board. Also, rise in crude oil price and rally in global equities aided the sentiment.

By 11:25 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was higher by 74 points at 24,751 and Nifty50 was trading 28 points higher at 7,540.

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Read more from our special coverage on "MARKETS"

• Markets end flat after Fed-led rally loses steam
• Rate cut, election results to dictate market trend
• Markets hold gains, Nifty aims 7,600; oil, bank shares lead
• Sensex down over 100 points; BSE Midcap index slips 1%
• Pharma shares drag Nifty below 7,500; US FOMC minutes eyed

DLF Ltd rises 1.5% after the company decided to sell its shopping mall in Saket in the national capital to its unit for Rs.904.50 crore as part of its plan to streamline and monetize its existing assets. 

LT Foods has rallied 17% after the company announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the branded rice business of Hindustan Unilever (HUL).

Shares of pharmaceutical companies remained under pressure with most of the frontline stocks trading lower by over 2% on the BSE. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Lupin, Aurobindo Pharma and Natco Pharma were down more than 3% each, while Wockhardt, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Indoco Remedies and Ajanta Pharma down between 2%-3% on the BSE.

JSW Energy up 2% while Jindal Steel and Power gained 2% on media reports stating that JSW Energy is set to acquire a 1,000 MW Jindal Power plant for about Rs.6,000 crore.

Supreme Court has asked TRAI to consider partial rollback of call drop penalty. Reacting to the news, Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications soared 0.2%-2%.

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(updated at 10:45 am)

Benchmark indices continue to hold on to their gains led by IT, metal and consumer durables shares. However, the upside is limited due to consistent sell-off among pharma shares.  

By 10:45 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was higher by 141 points at 24,819 and Nifty50 was trading 45 points higher at 7,558.

The top gainers from the Sensex pack are TCS, Wipro, BHEL, Tata Steel and GAIL.

Shares of pharmaceutical companies remained under pressure in monring deals on Friday, with most of the frontline stocks trading lower by over 2% on the BSE.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Lupin, Aurobindo Pharma and Natco Pharma were down more than 3% each, while Wockhardt, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Indoco Remedies and Ajanta Pharma plunged between 2%-3% on the BSE.

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Updated at 9:30 am

Markets have started the trading session on a higher note on the back of strong global cues and rise in crude oil prices.

By 9:30 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was higher by 77 points at 24,754 and Nifty50 was trading 24 points higher at 7,536. Among broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up 0.3% each.

According to Anand Rathi's morning note, "Nifty has to continue to hold the support of 7,450 zones to get a bounce back move towards 7,600-7,620 levels. On the downside if it fails to hold 7,400 zone then only momentum may fizzle out and index may drag down towards 7,365-7,350 zones. Market now requires a follow up buying and shifting of base to higher levels to continue its upswing led by support based buying in next coming sessions".

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 744.49 crore yesterday as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.

In an overseas market, Asian shares edged higher on Friday, turning positive for the year, while the US dollar weakened broadly after the Federal Reserve's cautious stance on further rate increases prompted investors to rebuild their bets on riskier assets.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.6% in early trade, entering positive territory for the year for the first time during Asian hours.

That echoed a recovery on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 Index gained 0.66% to close at its highest since Dec 31, led by the materials and energy sectors.

Japanese shares bucked the trend as the dollar's fall against the yen is seen hurting the country's exporters, with the Nikkei dipping 0.4%.

Back home, Bharti Airtel on Thursday announced it was acquiring rights to use Videocon Telecom’s spectrum in the 1,800 MHz band in six circles for Rs 4,428 crore. Shares of Bharti Airtel are up over 1%.

ONGC, India's biggest explorer, plans to enter into partnerships with overseas oilfield service providers to boost output from ageing oil and gas fields, its chairman said. Shares of ONGC are up over1%.

Tata Consultancy Services announced a three year partnership with the Virgin Money London Marathon to enhance the digital experience delivered to marathon participants. TCS has gained over 1%.

ICICI Bank, the country's largest private sector lender, has informed the stock exchanges that it is planning to raise infrastructure bonds. ICICI has risen by almost 1%.

On the losing side, pharma majors like Lupin and Sun Pharma are down between 1%-2%. Taro Pharma, the Israeli subsidiary of Sun pharmaceutical, has decided to buy back its shares worth $250 million.

HUL has agreed to sell its rice exports business to LT Foods worth Rs 25 crore as part of its strategy to exit non-core businesses.  The stock is down 1%.

With Reuters input