Indices trade with moderate gains; pharma shares rally

The headline equity indices traded with minor gains in the mid-afternoon trade, supported by a recovery in technology stocks following the previous sessions sharp selloff that had dragged the indices lower. The Nifty traded above the 25,450 mark. Pharma shares extended gains for the fourth consecutive trading session.

At 14:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 35.15 points or 0.05% to 82,261.11. The Nifty 50 index added 37.70 points or 0.14% to 25,463.85.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index added 0.44% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.27%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,930 shares rose and 2,169 shares fell. A total of 197 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, dropped 5.15% to 13.42.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index jumped 1.35% to 22,938.35. The index rallied 2.27% in the four consecutive trading sessions.

Laurus Labs (up 3.65%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 3.18%), Mankind Pharma (up 3.13%), Ajanta Pharma (up 2.03%), Lupin (up 1.79%), Divis Laboratories (up 1.77%), Alkem Laboratories (up 1.6%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 1.57%), Zydus Lifesciences (up 1.35%) and Cipla (up 1.12%) advanced.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper slipped 0.13% to 6.676 compared with the previous session close of 6.685.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 90.9450 compared with its close of 90.9500 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 2 April 2026 settlement gained 0.77% to Rs 161,195.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.06% to 97.70.

The United States 10-year bond yield added 0.40% to 4.049.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2026 settlement gained 36 cents or 0.51% to $70.94 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Univastu India jumped 7.86% after the company said that it has received a letter of acceptance (LoA) worth Rs 485.67 crore from IRCON International for works on Mumbai Metro Line 6 (Swami Samarth Nagar to VikhroliEEH).

Samhi Hotels rallied 3.33% after the company through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Duet India Hotels (Navi Mumbai), has signed operating agreements with Marriott Hotels India for two upcoming hotel projects in Navi Mumbai and Thane.

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