The key equity indices traded in a narrow range in mid-morning trade. The Nifty continued to trade above the 18,300 level after hitting the day's low at 18,289.35 in morning trade. Pharma shares witnessed significant selling pressure.
The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 54.96 points or 0.09% to 61,995.16. The Nifty 50 index added 15.85 points or 0.09% to 18,330.95.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.38% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.72%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2121 shares rose and 1153 shares fell. A total of 159 shares were unchanged.
On the political front, the Congress party is reportedly likely to get a majority of the seats in Karnataka, predicted various exit polls. The majority mark in the 224-seat Karnataka assembly stands at 113 seats. The results of the election will be declared on May 13.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Pharma index fell 1.04% to 12,584.75. The index had advanced 0.86% in the past three sessions.
Aurobindo Pharma (down 2.23%), Natco Pharma (down 1.31%), Alkem Laboratories (down 1.1%) and Zydus Lifesciences (down 1.07%) were the top losers.
Among the other losers were Laurus Labs (down 0.93%), Divis Laboratories (down 0.74%), Torrent Pharmaceuticals (down 0.46%) and Cipla (down 0.41%).
On the other hand, Sanofi India (up 4.38%), Ipca Laboratories (up 1.53%) and Pfizer (up 1.18%) moved up.
Dr Reddys Laboratories slumped 6.48%. The drug major reported consolidated net profit of Rs 959.2 crore in Q4 FY23, which was steeply higher than Rs 87.5 crore reported in Q4 FY22. Revenues increased 15.82% year on year to Rs 6,296.8 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2023.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Hindalco Industries fell 2.93%. The company's wholly-owned subsidiary Novelis Inc has reported a 27% fall in net income to $156 million for the quarter ended 31 March 2023. The company had posted a net income of $215 million in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. Net sales decreased 9% YoY to $4.4 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023.
Gujarat Gas __ . The gas distribution company's standalone net profit declined 16.9% to Rs 369.22 crore on 15.9% fall innet sales to Rs 3,928.57 crore in Q4 FY23 over Q4 FY22.
Ratnamani Metals & Tubes surged 9.89% to Rs 2466.25 after the company's consolidated net profit jumped 71.59% to Rs 191.55 crore on 53.90% increase in net sales to Rs 1499.08 crore in Q4 March 2023 over Q4 March 2022.
H.G. Infra Engineering rallied 3% to Rs 938 after the company's net profit jumped 64.43% to Rs 170.92 crore on 44.22% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 1,535.43 crore in Q4 FY23 over Q4 FY22.
Global markets:
Asian stocks are trading mixed after Wall Street saw a tech rally as U.S. consumer price index rose less than expected for April.
China's consumer price index rose 0.1% in April year-on-year, the slowest since early 2021. Month-on-month, prices declined by 0.1%. April's reading comes after China's inflation rate eased to 0.7% in March after marking a recent peak of 2.8% in September.
US stock markets closed mixed on Wednesday on lower-than-expected growth in inflation in April.
US inflation was slightly weaker than forecast in April. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 4.9% from April 2022 to April 2023, Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed on Wednesday. That's just below the 5.0% forecast and under the year-over-year percent increase of 5.0% in March.
The White House said in a statement on Wednesday that easing gas and food prices were providing ?some welcome breathing room for families? at a time when the US economy and job market are strong.
