Sensex, Nifty off the day's high

The benchmarks indices came off the day's high in mid-morning trade. The Nifty was currently trading above the 8,950 level. At 11:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 514.84 points or 1.71% at 30,543.82. The Nifty 50 index added 137.65 points or 1.56% at 8,960.90.

Domestic shares witnessed bargain hunting after recent steep losses. The Sensex and the Nifty lost about 6% in the past three session. Domestic shares also mirrored global peers which surged on optimism about a potential vaccine for the coronavirus. However, gains were capped amid rising coronavirus cases in India.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.27% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.58%. Both these indices underperformed the benchmark Sensex.

Buyers outpaced the sellers. On the BSE, 1082 shares rose and 734 shares fell. A total of 145 shares were unchanged. In the Nifty 50 index, 45 shares advanced while 5 shares declined.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 2,512.82 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 152.42 crore in the Indian equity market on 18 May, provisional data showed.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index rose 0.54% to 9,142.05 amid bargain hunting. The index fell 0.86% in the past two sessions.

Strides Pharma Science (up 3.72%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 2.46%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 2.17%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (up 1.37%), Cadila Healthcare (up 1.23%), Alkem Laboratories (up 1.18%), Divi's Laboratories (up 1.06%), Piramal Enterprises (up 0.8%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 0.43%), IPCA Laboratories (up 0.2%) and Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 0.19%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Consumer Product gained 1.84% to Rs 353.3. The Tata Group company will acquire the entire stake of PepsiCo in NourishCo (50%), consequently terminating the joint-venture and making NourishCo a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company as well as transfer of rights over the 'Gluco Plus / Gluco+' brand from PepsiCo. This move is consistent with the company's focus on widening its portfolio in the food and beverages space and the above acquisition would be providing an established platform to the company for further expansion in the ready-to-drink beverage segment.

AU Small Finance Bank rose 0.84% to Rs 401.25. Government of Singapore bought 19.69 lakh shares at Rs 414.6 per share, NSE's bulk deal data for 18 May 2020 showed. On the same day, the bank's promoter Chirinjee Lal Agarwal sold 25 lakh equity shares at Rs 414.60 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Global Markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks were trading higher on Tuesday as hopes rise on a potential coronavirus vaccine after a positive development from a Moderna trial.

Moderna reported 'positive' phase one results for a potential coronavirus vaccine. The company said that after two doses all 45 trial participants had developed coronavirus antibodies.

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday that his country will provide $2 billion over two years to help other countries combat the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

US stocks rose sharply on Monday on optimism that the American economy might be percolating again, while the medical community works toward a potential COVID-19 vaccine.

Stock-market bulls also gained confidence following remarks by the U.S. central bank chief Powell on Sunday and Monday that the Fed would continue to support the economy and financial markets through the viral outbreak.

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