Sensex slides 165 pts; pharma shares drop

The key equity benchmarks traded with moderate cuts in the mid-afternoon trade, marking a fourth consecutive session of losses. Investor sentiment remained cautious amid ongoing uncertainty over a potential U.S.-India trade agreement, which weighed on risk appetite. However, the downside could be partially cushioned by a rebound in the rupee and early signs of renewed buying from foreign investors. The Nifty traded below the 25,800 level.

Pharma shares corrected after advancing in the past trading session.

At 14:27 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 164.58 points or 0.19% to 84,395.07. The Nifty 50 index lost 29.05 points or 0.11% to 25,789.50.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.28% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.46%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,481 shares rose and 2,591 shares fell. A total of 180 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index slipped 0.55% to 22,488.85. The index rose 0.09% in the past trading session.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 2.84%), Alkem Laboratories (down 1.49%), J B Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (down 0.97%), Piramal Pharma (down 0.92%), Torrent Pharmaceuticals (down 0.90%), Ajanta Pharma (down 0.85%), Ipca Laboratories (down 0.74%), Zydus Lifesciences (down 0.51%) and Cipla (down 0.01%) declined.

On the other hand, Biocon (up 1.36%), Divis Laboratories (up 1.32%) and Wockhardt (up 1.21%) edged higher.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper shed 0.11% to 6.594 compared with previous session close of 6.601.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 90.2450 compared with its close of 90.3800 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2025 settlement slipped 0.39% to Rs 134,365.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.10% to 98.102.

The United States 10-year bond yield lost 0.39% to 4.133.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2025 settlement gained 39 cents or 0.65% to $60.07 a barrel.

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