Pharma stocks slide

Fresh selling in index pivotals dragged the key indices to intraday low in mid-morning trade. At 11:15 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 285.69 points or 0.8% at 35,590.53. The Nifty 50 index was down 92.60 points or 0.86% at 10,653.45. Shares of index heavyweight HDFC Bank dropped. Pharma shares fell sharply.

Domestic stocks edged lower in early trade on negative Asian stocks. Key indices extended fall in morning trade.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 1.46%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.77%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On the BSE, 693 shares rose and 1294 shares fell. A total of 119 shares were unchanged.

Index heavyweight HDFC Bank dropped 1.41% to Rs 2,080.05.

Pharma shares dropped. Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 7.3%), Cadila Healthcare (down 3.15%), Cipla (down 1.81%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 5.63%), Lupin (down 2.94%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 4.01%), Alkem Laboratories (down 1.19%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 2.09%), Aurobindo Pharma (down 3.04%) and Wockhardt (down 3.19%) edged lower.

Nestle India fell 2.42%. The company's net profit rose 9.6% to Rs 341.76 crore on 11.2% increase in net sales to Rs 2,878.83 crore in Q4 December 2018 over Q4 December 2017. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 14 February 2019.

Total sales increased by 11.2% while domestic sales grew 12% in the December quarter supported by volumes and was broad based, it said. Export sales remained flat due to lower exports to Bangladesh & United Arab Emirates.

Commenting on the results, Suresh Narayanan, chairman and managing director, Nestle India said that the firm has, once again, delivered volume led profitable growth. There was double digit growth in almost all the categories, supported by a step up in demand generating activities including on new products. Brands like Maggi, Nescafe, Kitkat, Munch and Everyday continued to deliver strong performances, he added.

Overseas, Asian stocks slipped on Friday as traders awaited the conclusion of U.S.-China talks in Beijing.

Traders are waiting for results of a meeting on Friday between the Trump administration's top two negotiators and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. There has been no decision to extend a March 1 US deadline for a deal, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow reportedly said on Thursday.

U.S. stocks closed mostly lower Thursday as disappointment over weak retail sales overshadowed optimism over U.S.-China trade talks, but the Nasdaq eked out gains to rise for a fifth session in a row. U.S. retail sales fell by 1.2% in December, the largest single-month decline since 2009. The U.S. producer-price index fell by 0.1% in January.

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