Markets trim gains in late morning deals

Indian equity markets trimmed most of their gains in late morning deals on account of selling in FMCG and Auto stocks.  There was some cautiousness in markets amid continued foreign fund outflows. Foreign institutional investors (FII) net sold shares worth Rs 282.06 crore on March 17, according to the provisional data available on the NSE.  Traders took a note of repot that Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran has said the global uncertainty has been rising after the recent developments in the United States and governments, businesses and individuals should keep 'margins of safety' in fiscal, corporate and savings account planning. On the BSE sectoral front, traders were seen pilling up position in Realty, Capital Goods, IT, Utilities and Power, while selling was witnessed in FMCG, Auto, Telecom and Oil & Gas.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, as stocks rebounded from recent losses with risk sentiment improving after First Republic Bank and Credit Suisse secured a lifeline, which helped ease recent concerns about turmoil in the banking sector. Back home, in the stock specific development, Rail Vikas Nigam rallied after it emerged as the lowest bidder for the 11 KV line project worth Rs 111.85 crore.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 57751.24, up by 116.40 points or 0.20% after trading in a range of 57701.47 and 58178.94. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.40%, while Small cap index up by 0.57%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 1.86%, Capital Goods up by 1.33%, IT up by 1.32%, Utilities up by 1.24% and Power up by 1.16%, while FMCG down by 0.47%, Auto down by 0.37%, Telecom down by 0.26% and Oil & Gas down by 0.06% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HCL up by 2.46%, Infosys up by 2.19%, Nestle up by 2.03%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.75% and Ultratech Cement up by 1.42%. On the flip side, ITC down by 2.50%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.58%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.55%, TCS down by 0.45% and Sun Pharma down by 0.44% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that domestic pharmaceutical industry is expected to witness a revenue growth of 6-8 per cent in the next fiscal (FY24). Despite several disruptive events, the Indian pharmaceutical market (IPM) witnessed a healthy CAGR of 10.9 per cent between FY2012 and FY2022.

According to the report, structural factors such as ageing population and continued rise in lifestyle/chronic diseases, in addition to WPI-linked price hikes for NLEM products, new product introductions, and annual price hikes for non-NLEM products, are expected to support revenue growth for the industry. It stated that since FY2018, IPM growth has largely been supported by price increases and new product introductions, even as volume growth remained between 2-3 per cent each fiscal. It said higher sales of anti-infectives, further supported by price increases taken to offset raw material cost inflation, aided the overall IPM growth of 14.6 per cent in FY2022. However, it said given the high base, the volume contracted by 1.2 per cent for the nine-month period of FY2023.

The report further said the steps being taken by the companies towards new product introductions and enhancements in field force are expected to support their growth going forward. It noted that drugs listed under National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) accounted for 17-18 per cent of the IPM, with some companies deriving around 30 per cent of their revenues from such medications. In terms of emerging trends in the industry, e-pharmacies have gained significant traction in recent years and now account for 10-15 per cent of the IPM currently.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 17023.85, up by 38.25 points or 0.23% after trading in a range of 17015.40 and 17145.80. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HCL up by 2.50%, Infosys up by 2.47%, Nestle up by 1.89%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 1.86% and Tata Consumer up by 1.79%. On the flip side, ITC down by 2.73%, BPCL down by 1.37%, Eicher Motors down by 1.21%, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.94% and Adani Ports down by 0.60% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading higher; Taiwan Weighted added 197.82 points or 1.28% to 15,418.94, Hang Seng advanced 311.18 points or 1.62% to 19,515.09, Shanghai Composite strengthened 39.01 points or 1.21% to 3,265.90, KOSPI increased 15.28 points or 0.64% to 2,393.19, Jakarta Composite gained 89.99 points or 1.35% to 6,655.72, Straits Times rose 24.1 points or 0.76% to 3,179.64 and Nikkei 225 surged 304.46 points or 1.13% to 27,315.07.