Stocks trimmed gains in early afternoon trade after an intraday upmove. At 12:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 236.23 points or 0.66% at 36,199.16. The Nifty 50 index was up 55.50 points or 0.51% at 10,860.95. Pharma shares advanced.
Trading for the week began on a positive note as the key benchmark indices drifted higher in early trade. Key benchmark indices extended gains and hit intraday high in morning trade. Key indices hovered near day's high in mid-morning trade.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.16%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.19%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1302 shares rose and 1011 shares fell. A total of 146 shares were unchanged.
Pharma shares advanced. Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 1.04%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 2.98%), Lupin (up 0.52%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 0.3%), Alkem Laboratories (up 0.03%), Cipla (up 0.21%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (up 0.14%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 1.64%) and Wockhardt (up 3.96%) gained.
Cadila Healthcare rose 1.23%. Cadila Healthcare announced that Zydus Cadila has received the final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) to market Albendazole Tablets USP (US RLD ALBENZA tablets), 200 mg. It will be manufactured at the group's formulations manufacturing facility at SEZ, Ahmedabad. This medication is used to treat certain tapeworm infections (such as neurocysticercosis and hydatid disease). The announcement was made on Saturday, 15 December 2018.
The group also received a tentative approval for Pregabalin Capsules (US RLD Lyrica) in the strengths of 25 mg, 50 mg, 75 mg, 100 mg, 150 mg, 200 mg, 225 mg and 300 mg. It will be manufactured at the group's formulations manufacturing facility at Moraiya, Ahmedabad. Pregabalin is used to help control certain kinds of seizures, painful nerve diseases and fibromyalgia.
Solara Active Pharma Science (Solara) rose 8.83%. Solara announced the successful completion of US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) inspection at Solara Research Centre (SRC), Chennai with zero 483s inspectional observations. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 14 December 2018.
Overseas, Asian stocks were trading mixed ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting this week. US stocks dropped sharply on Friday after a batch of weaker-than-expected economic data out of China and Europe sparked fresh worries about the state of the world's second-biggest economy and prospects for global growth.
The Federal Reserve holds its final policy meeting of 2018 on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to raise its short-term interest rate by a modest quarter-point to a range of 2.25% to 2.5%. Investors are closely watching the Federal Reserve monetary policy guidance for 2019. The central bank forecasts three more rate hikes in 2019, but softer global growth could cause a shift in its hawkish stance. The Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision is due Thursday, followed by a briefing from Governor Haruhiko Kuroda.
In economic data, US industrial production rose 0.6% in November. Capacity utilization rose ten basis points to 78.5% from October. The US purchasing managers index for the manufacturing sector fell to a 13-month low of 53.9 in December, while the services sector survey fell to an 11-month low of 53.4. A reading of more than 50 indicates an expansion in activity.
In Europe, investors are monitoring Brexit developments after Theresa May's team pushed back against reports they are warming to a second referendum on Brexit. The UK prime minister will face Parliament on Monday.
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