Sensex, Nifty turn range bound

Key benchmark indices were hovering in a narrow range near day's low in mid-morning trade. At 11:17 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 174.23 points or 0.57% at 30,396.74. The Nifty 50 index was down 51.80 points or 0.55% at 9,386.45. Broader market witnessed major selling pressure.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 1.91%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 2.27%. The decline in both these indices was higher than the Sensex's decline in percentage terms.

The broad market depicted weakness. There were more than six losers against every gainer on BSE. 2,051 shares fell and 332 shares rose. A total of 112 shares were unchanged.

Pharmaceutical shares tumbled. Aurobindo Pharma (down 5.08%), Wockhardt (down 4.56%), Strides Shasun (down 4.31%), Cipla (down 3.59%), Divi's Laboratories (down 3.58%), Cadila Healthcare (down 3.18%), IPCA Laboratories (down 3.08%), Lupin (down 2.37%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 2.2%), Alkem Laboratories (down 1.83%), Piramal Enterprises (down 1.35%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 1.24%) and GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 1.16%), edged lower.

Drug major Sun Pharmaceutical Industries was down 7.36% to Rs 593.15 after the company's subsidiary Taro reported weak results. Taro's net profit fell 27.82% to $83 million on 25.9% decrease in net sales to $196.40 million in Q4 March 2017 over Q4 March 2016. The drop in net sales is due to continuing increased competition and the challenging pricing environment.

Most FMCG shares declined. Colgate Palmolive (India) (down 1.58%), Tata Global Beverages (down 1.53%), Britannia Industries (down 1.1%), Godrej Consumer Products (down 0.87%), Dabur India (down 0.81%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care (down 0.81%), Jyothy Laboratories (down 0.8%), GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (down 0.42%) and Bajaj Corp (down 0.27%), edged lower. Nestle India (up 0.08%), Marico (up 0.25%) and Hindustan Unilever (up 0.92%), edged higher.

Sharda Cropchem tumbled 7.43% after consolidated net profit fell 1.64% to Rs 98.68 crore on 11.62% growth in total income to Rs 596.47 crore in Q4 March 2017 over Q4 March 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 22 May 2017.

Gati fell 4.93% after consolidated net profit fell 40.2% to Rs 9.29 crore on 3.4% decrease in net sales to Rs 410.28 crore in Q4 March 2017 over Q4 March 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 22 May 2017.

Overseas, Asian shares were mixed after police said they were treating an explosion in Manchester, England, that killed at least 19 people as a terror attack.

The explosion struck an Ariana Grande concert in northern England late yesterday, 22 May 2017, killing at least 19 people and injuring dozens. Britain's terrorist threat level has been set at "severe" in recent years, indicating an attack is highly likely. Police said the explosion is being judged a terrorist attack unless new information proves otherwise.

In US, shares rose for the third straight day with technology companies closing in on all-time highs. Aerospace and defense companies rose after President Donald Trump presided over a $110 billion sale of military equipment to Saudi Arabia that could expand to $350 billion over 10 years. The Standard & Poor's 500 index jumped 0.5% to 2,394.02. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.4% to 20,894.83 and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.8% to 6,133.62.

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