Pharma stocks witness a mixed trend

Bank stocks led losses as key benchmark indices hovered in red in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:17 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 184.27 points or 0.74% at 24,640.77. The 50-unit Nifty 50 index was currently off 58.20 points or 0.77% at 7,505.65. The Sensex hit its lowest level in more than 19 months when it fell 227.93 points or 0.91% at the day's low of 24,597.11 in afternoon trade. The barometer index rose 57.26 points or 0.23% at the day's high of 24,882.30 at the onset of trading session. The Nifty hit its lowest level in almost 18 months when it fell 76.05 points or 1% at the day's low of 7,487.80 in afternoon trade. The index rose 24.45 points or 0.32% at the day's high of 7,588.30 at the onset of trading session.

The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was weak. On BSE, 1,723 shares fell and 951 shares rose. A total of 168 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently down 0.73%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently down 0.69%. The fall in both these indices was lower than Sensex's decline in percentage terms.

In overseas stock markets, European shares edged higher as stocks of retailers rose following some positive company updates. Asian stocks witnessed a mixed trend. US stocks eked out small gains yesterday, 11 January 2016, after dipping in and out of negative territory as a deepening rout in oil prices hit the energy sector on the heels of the worst weekly start ever to a new year.

Aditya Birla Group stocks declined across the board. Idea Cellular (down 3.76%), Grasim Industries (down 3.07%), Hindalco Industries (down 2.76%), Aditya Birla Nuvo (down 2.56%) and UltraTech Cement (down 2.07%) edged lower.

Pharmaceutical stocks were mixed. Wockhardt (up 2.34%), Cadila Healthcare (up 1.94%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 1.19%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 1.18%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 1.04%), Cipla (up 0.16%) and Divi's Laboratories (up 0.02%) edged higher. Lupin (down 0.01%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.07%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 0.58%), Piramal Enterprises (down 1.27%), Strides Shasun (down 1.3%) and IPCA Laboratories (down 2.4%) edged lower.

Power generation stocks declined. Reliance Power (down 2.84%), Jaiprakash Power Ventures (down 1.83%), Reliance Infrastructure (down 1.82%), Torrent Power (down 1.79%), Adani Power (down 1.2%), GMR Infrastructure (down 0.99%), Tata Power (down 0.52%), JSW Energy (down 0.48%) and NHPC (down 0.24%), edged lower. CESC (up 0.17%) and NTPC (up 2.22%), edged higher.

Shares of aviation firms rose after crude oil prices tumbled. Jet Airways (India) (up 3.58%), SpiceJet (up 2.05%) and InterGlobe Aviation (up 1.25%), edged higher. Lower crude oil prices benefit aviation firms as jet fuel prices, which typically constitute about 50% of airlines' operating costs, are directly linked to international crude oil prices.

However, a weakness in rupee against the dollar will raise routine expenses for carriers. A weak rupee impacts aviation sector adversely as almost a third of operational expenses of aviation firms are denominated in dollars. Among the payments made in dollars include, rentals of leased aircraft, maintenance, spare parts and salary paid out to foreign crew.

Brent crude oil futures edged lower on a stronger dollar and worries over Chinese demand. Brent for February settlement was currently off 73 cents at $30.82 a barrel. The contract had lost $2 a barrel or 5.96% to settle at $31.55 a barrel during the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee was currently hovering at 66.915, compared with its close of 66.81 during the previous trading session.

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