Market slips into the red

After hovering in green in mid-morning trade, key benchmark indices reversed course in early afternoon trade. At 12:16 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 7.76 points or 0.03% at 26,026.37. The 50-unit Nifty 50 index was currently down 10.70 points or 0.14% at 7,914.45. The Sensex shed 11.05 points or 0.04% at the day's low of 26,023.08 in early afternoon trade. The index gained 99.65 points or 0.38% at the day's high of 26,133.78 in early trade, its highest level since 2 December 2015. The Nifty fell 12.70 points or 0.16% at the day's low of 7,912.45 in early afternoon trade. The index rose 17 points or 0.21% at the day's high of 7,942.15 in early trade, its highest level since 2 December 2015.

The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market turned negative from positive in early afternoon trade. On BSE, 1,310 shares fell and 1,109 shares rose. A total of 228 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.29%, outperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently down 0.21%. The decline in this index was higher than the Sensex's drop in percentage terms.

In overseas stock markets, Asian stocks were in green. US stocks edged lower yesterday, 28 December 2015, weighed down by a drop in energy stocks as global crude oil prices fell.

Pharma stocks gained on weak rupee. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 0.89%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 0.92%), Cipla (up 0.44%), Wockhardt (up 0.17%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 0.71%), Divi's Laboratories (up 0.3%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 0.57%) and Cadila Healthcare (up 0.76%) gained. Weakness in rupee could boost sales of pharma companies in rupee terms as pharma firms derive substantial revenue from exports.

In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee was currently hovering at 66.3625, compared with its close of 66.2075 during the previous trading session.

Lupin gained 0.4% after the company announced that it has received final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for its Fyavolv Tablets, a generic version of Warner Chilcott's Femhrt Tablets. The company made the announcement after market hours yesterday, 28 December 2015. Lupin's US subsidiary, Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. would commence promoting the product in the US shortly, Lupin said in a statement. Lupin's Fyavolv Tablets are indicated for the treatment of moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms due to menopause and prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Femhrt had annual sales of $39.9 million in the United States as per IMS MAT September 2015 data.

Suven Life Sciences rose 3.05% after the company said that it has secured two products patents, one each from Europe and Macau corresponding to the new chemical entities (NCEs) for the treatment of disorders associated with neurodegenerative diseases. The patents are valid through 2030 and 2029 respectively. The company made the announcement during market hours today, 29 December 2015.

Shares of power generation and power distribution companies gained. Torrent Power (up 0.43%), NHPC (up 0.01%), NTPC (up 1.63%), Adani Power (up 0.33%), Reliance Infrastructure (up 2.58%) and Reliance Power (up 1.09%) gained. Tata Power Company (down 0.3%) and Power Grid Corporation of India (down 0.42%) declined.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News