Sensex tanks 1332 pts; pharma stocks buck trend

Equity indices were trading with steep losses in morning trade as Covid-19 cases continued to surge in the country. The Nifty hovered around the 14,450 level. Pharma stocks bucked a broader selloff.

At 10:21 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 1332.39 points or 2.69% at 48,258.69. The Nifty 50 index declined 395.3 points or 2.66% at 14,439.55.

The selling was broad based. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 3.72% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 3.19%.

Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 479 shares rose and 2060 shares fell. A total of 123 shares were unchanged.

IT bellwether TCS scheduled to kick start the Jan-March 2021 results season today, 12 April 2021.

On the macro front, the Industrial Production and Manufacturing Production data for February will be released today, 12 April 2021.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 135,875,683 with 2,935,457 deaths.

India reported 12,01,009 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 170179 deaths while 121,56,529 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

India on Monday reported 1,68,912 new Covid-19 cases and 904 deaths in last 24 hours, according to data from the Union Health Ministry.

The media reported that a total lockdown may be impending in Maharashtra. With rising COVID cases, a total lockdown is mulled by state government officials. State health minister Rajesh Tope said that a decision could happen after it is discussed during Wednesday's cabinet meeting.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index added 0.81% to 13,101.25, bucking weak market trend. The index rose for second consecutive trading session and has added 3.88% in two days.

Cipla (up 3.14%), Cadila Healthcare (up 1.99%), Dr. Reddy's (up 1.53%), Divi's Laboratories (up 1.05%), Lupin (up 0.88%) and Torrent Pharmaceuticals (up 0.85%) were top gainers in pharma space.

Stocks in Spotlight:

JMC Projects tumbled 5.62%. The EPC company announced that it has secured new orders worth Rs 1,262 crore. Of the total Rs 1,262 crore, orders worth Rs 431 crore were bagged in March 2021 while the remaining orders worth Rs 831 crore were secured in April 2021 till date. The company secured building projects in India of Rs 1,059 crore. It has also bagged a water project worth approximately Rs 203 crore in Maldives.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone tumbled 5%. Flipkart, India's leading homegrown e-commerce marketplace, announced a strategic and commercial partnership with the Adani Group, India's largest multinational infrastructure company. In this two-pronged partnership, Flipkart will work with Adani Logistics, a diversified end-to-end logistics service provider in the country and a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone, to strengthen Flipkart's supply chain infrastructure and further enhance its ability to serve its rapidly growing base of customers.

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