Nifty trades above 18,050 mark; Pharma stocks witness bargain buying

The key equity indices traded with limited gains in the mid-afternoon. The Nifty traded above the 18,050 mark. Pharma stocks witnessed some bit of value buying after declining in the past three sessions.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 140.08 points or 0.23% to 61,415.17. The Nifty 50 index added 25 points or 0.25% to 18,061.50.

The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.10% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.01%

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,905 shares rose and 1,505 shares fell. A total of 169 shares were unchanged.

The overall gains remained capped as higher-than-estimated January US retail sales data further flamed concerns about further interest rate hikes by the Fed. US retail sales rose to 3% in January 2023 after two consecutive monthly declines, due to a rise in motor vehicle purchases. The number is the highest since the 4.9% revised jump for January 2022.

Numbers to track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper declined to 7.345 from 7.347 previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 82.6250, compared with its close of 82.83 during the previous trading session

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2023 settlement declined 0.07% to Rs 56085.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.23% to 103.68.

The United States 10-year bond yield declined 0.61% to 3.784.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2023 settlement advanced 38 cents or 0.45% to $85.76 a barrel.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index advanced 0.62 % to 12,312.60. The index has fallen 0.73% in the past three trading session.

Ipca Laboratories (up 2.64%), Biocon (up 2.39%), Lupin (up 2.15%), Zydus Lifesciences (up 1.7%) Aurobindo Pharma (up 1.54%), Divis Laboratories (up 1.5%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 1.21%), Granules India (up 0.67%), Cipla (up 0.48%) and Laurus Labs (up 0.45%) advanced.

On the other hand, Gland Pharma (down 0.8%), Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.78%) and Alkem Laboratories (down 0.15%) edged lower.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Dalmia Bharat rose 0.17%. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved proposed acquisition by the Dalmia Cement (Bharat) of certain assets from Jaiprakash Associates and its associate.

Paras Defence and Space Technologies rose 0.01%. The company has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Yantra India for technology collaboration.

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