Nifty climbs above 20,400; pharma shares under pressure

The headline indices traded continued to trade with modest gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 22,400 level. IT shares declined after rising in the previous trading session.

At 12:32 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 256.44 points or 0.35% to 73,905.06. The Nifty 50 index added 76.40 points or 0.34% to 22,412.80.

In the broader market, The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.56% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.95%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,408 shares rose and 1,264 shares fell. A total of 138 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

Rising from 61.8 in March to 62.2 in April, the headline HSBC Flash India Composite PMI Output Index a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of India's manufacturing and service sectors indicated the fastest rate of increase in aggregate business activity since mid-2010. Survey participants overwhelmingly attributed the expansion to buoyant demand from domestic and external clients.

Growth in India remained broad-based across the manufacturing and service sectors. The former saw the sharper rate of increase, albeit one that was softer than in March. In the service economy, business activity rose to the greatest extent in three months.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tumbled 20.17% to 10.14. Volatility zoomed as traders roll over their positions in the F&O segment from the near month April series to May series. The April 2024 F&O contracts will expire on Thursday, 25 April 2024. The Nifty 25 April 2024 futures were trading at 22,407.25, at a discount of 5.55 points as compared with the spot at 22,412.80.

The Nifty option chain for the 25 April 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 117.8 lakh contracts at the 23,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 117.6 lakh contracts were seen at 22,000 strike price. Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index declined 0.70% to 18,511.90. The index rallied 1.30% in past trading session.

Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries (down 2.6%), Abbott India (down 1.99%), Alkem Laboratories (down 1.21%), Zydus Lifesciences (down 1.05%), Ipca Laboratories (down 1.03%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 0.92%), Sanofi India (down 0.55%), Lupin (down 0.41%), J B Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (down 0.16%) edged lower.

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