Sensex, Nifty trim gains in early afternoon deals

Indian equity benchmarks trimmed their gains in early afternoon deals, on the back of selling at Telecom and Banking counters, despite positive cues from other Asian markets. Traders got cautious, as the RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said in his foreword in the bi-annual financial stability report (FSR) that Indian financial institutions have strong balance sheets, low levels of impairments and strong capital buffers, but the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) remains watchful of the emerging risks, including those from cyber hazards, climate change and global spillovers.  Besides, a private report stated that India's security establishment is advocating a cautious approach to any unhindered and blanket approval to the FDI proposals from China given the history of corporate behaviour of Chinese companies in the country.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green, as Industrial production in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 2.8 percent on month in May. That beat forecasts for an increase of 2.0 percent following the 0.9 percent contraction in April. On a yearly basis, industrial production was up 0.3 percent.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 79160.13, down by 83.05 points or 0.10% after trading in a range of 79160.13 and 79671.58. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose by 0.26%, while Small cap index was up by 0.49%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Energy up by 1.23%, Oil & Gas up by 1.20%, Healthcare up by 0.76%, PSU up by 0.62% and Metal up by 0.51%, while Telecom down by 0.94%, Bankex down by 0.56%, TECK down by 0.34%, Capital Goods down by 0.33% and Industrials down by 0.25% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 2.11%, SBI up by 1.48%, Reliance Industries up by 1.42%, Asian Paints up by 1.24% and NTPC up by 1.19%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 1.53%, Axis Bank down by 1.31%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.24%, ICICI Bank down by 1.18% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.00% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) Director General Udaya Bhaskar has said that as many as 15 blockbuster drugs whose revenues worth $112 billion will be off-patented during 2023 to 2029 and the Indian pharma industry will have a growth opportunity of $10 billion in the form of generics (including complex). 

Bhaskar said with the advent of quality concerns raised by global regulatory agencies, Pharmexcil's priority has been shifted to quality management and imbibing quality culture in the industry by way of organising capacity building programmes in states to uphold the image of Indian pharma on global platform. He further said the Indian pharma sector is fraught with challenges such as geopolitical tensions, supply chain issues, pricing pressures and increased scrutiny by global regulatory agencies, among others and that the government needs to be proactive to overcome these hurdles. According to the pharma exports body, India has 748 US Food and Drug Administration approved manufacturing facilities. 

He noted that Indian pharma exports recorded 8.85 per cent growth during April and May this year at $4.73 billion against $4.35 billion during the same period last fiscal. Besides, India's imports during April and May have increased marginally by 1.98 per cent, from $8.10 billion in FY23 to $8.26 billion in FY24. Indian pharma export grew from $3.9 billion in FY05 to $27.85 billion in FY24 and is expected to touch around $31 billion this fiscal. According to him, Latin America and Africa are the focussed geographies for Indian pharma exports. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24057.40, up by 12.90 points or 0.05% after trading in a range of 24032.10 and 24174.00. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddy's Lab up by 2.66%, ONGC up by 2.17%, Tata Motors up by 1.92%, Reliance Industries up by 1.60% and SBI Life Insurance up by 1.51%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 1.51%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.47%, Axis Bank down by 1.42%, ICICI Bank down by 1.41% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.96% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 15.39 points or 0.09% to 17,731.86, Jakarta Composite gained 90.67 points or 1.28% to 7,058.62, Shanghai Composite strengthened 15.48 points or 0.52% to 2,961.33, KOSPI increased 13.76 points or 0.49% to 2,797.82, Nikkei 225 surged 241.54 points or 0.61% to 39,583.08 and Taiwan Weighted added 126.27 points or 0.55% to 23,032.25, while Straits Times fell 10.19 points or 0.31% to 3,333.16.