Indices pare gains; NSE VIX slumps 4%

Key indices pared gains in early afternoon trade. Pharma shares corrected after advancing in the past two sessions. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 132.78 points or 0.26% to 51,664.30. The Nifty 50 index added 31.35 points or 0.21% to 15,204.65.

The domestic equity barometers have climbed nearly 25% since January 2021 following a range of positive developments, including a high-spending union budget, strong corporate earnings, robust foreign fund flows and progress on COVID-19 vaccinations.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.21% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.50%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1513 shares rose and 1247 shares fell. A total of 166 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tumbled 4.01% to 22.12. The Nifty 25 February 2021 futures were trading at 15,202, at a discount of 2.65 points as compared with the spot at 15,204.65.

The Nifty option chain for 25 February 2021 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 20.7 lakh contracts at the 15,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 28.8 lakh contracts was seen at 14,000 strike price.

Buzzing Segment:

The Nifty Pharma index shed 0.32% to 12,888.30. The index had gained 0.91% in the past two sessions.

Sun Pharma (down 1.59%), Alkem Laboratories (down 0.56%), Lupin (down 0.51%), Divi's Labs (down 0.50%) and Cipla (down 0.21%) declined.

Cadila Healthcare (up 0.84%), Biocon (up 0.59%), Torrent Pharma (up 0.54%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 0.49%) and Dr. Reddy's Labs (up 0.19%) advanced.

Strides Pharma rose 2.63% to Rs 888.60 after the drug company announced that its step-down wholly owned subsidiary has received US drug regulator's approval for Prednisone tablets. Prednisone belongs to a class of drugs known as corticosteroids and is used as an anti-inflammatory or an immunosuppressant medication.

Earnings Impact:

Bayer CropScience dropped 5.54% to Rs 5230. On a standalone basis, the company's net profit stood at Rs 45.10 crore in Q3 December 2020 compared with net loss of Rs 137.90 crore in Q3 December 2019. Net sales jumped 7.5% to Rs 918.20 crore in Q3 FY21 as against Rs 854 crore in Q3 FY20.

NHPC gained 2.23% to Rs 25.20 after the PSU company posted a 50.5% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 961.64 crore on a 9.3% rise in net sales to Rs 2359.68 crore in Q3 FY21 over Q3 FY20.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 107,767,935 with 2,367,856 deaths. India reported 135,926 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 155,447 deaths while 104,96,308 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

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