Indices trade with major cuts; pharma shares decline

The domestic equity benchmarks slipped near the day's low in the mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded near the 18,360 mark. Pharma shares declined for the second straight day.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 369.27 points or 0.60% to 61,429.76. The Nifty 50 index lost 114.65 points or 0.62% to 18,300.25.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 1.51% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.78%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1398 shares rose and 2088 shares fell. A total of 132 shares were unchanged.

Investor sentiment took a hit after disappointing U.S. retail sales for November suggested inflation is taking a toll on consumers and raising fears that the Fed's rate hikes could push the world's largest economy into a recession.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 7.291 as compared with 7.268 at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.84, compared with its close of 82.76 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 3 February 2023 settlement lost 0.06% to Rs 54,075.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.11% to 104.44.

The United States 10-year bond yield was up 0.88% to 3.480.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2023 settlement declined $1 or 1.23% to $80.21 a barrel.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index fell 1.38% to 12,639.70. The index declined 1.90% in two trading sessions.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 4.07%), Gland Pharma (down 3.01%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 2.69%), Lupin (down 2.54%), Granules India (down 2.13%), Ipca Laboratories (down 1.6%), Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries (down 1.29%), Divis Laboratories (down 0.99%), Natco Pharma (down 0.92%) and Cipla (down 0.9%) were the losers.

On the other hand, Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals (up 1.74%), Abbott India (up 1.05%) and Pfizer (up 0.84%) edged higher.

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories declined 2.69% after the company said that Aurigene Oncology, its wholly owned subsidiary will stop the clinical development of INDUS-3, a drug meant to treat psoriasis.

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