Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai, Dec.29: The Indian equity benchmarks ended the day lower on Wednesday, December 29 amid choppy trading ahead of the monthly derivatives’ expiration. The Sensex fell 90 points to 57,806, while the Nifty 50 fell 19 points to 17,213.60, just beyond the 17,200 level.
Pharma companies including Cipla, Sun Pharma, and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories extended their gains, keeping markets afloat for the majority of today’s session. Metal companies, on the other hand, were the biggest drags today, with the nifty metal index down 1.1 percent, offsetting the pharmaceutical sector’s advance.
The Nifty pharma index rose 1.7 percent a day after India approved Merck’s COVID-19 tablet and two more vaccinations for emergency use.
Among the top gainers were Eicher Motors, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto, and Divis Labs. ITC, State Bank of India (SBI), Coal India, and Tech Mahindra, on the other hand, were among the biggest losers.
The Nifty Midcap 100 index was up 0.08 percent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index was up 0.59 percent, indicating that mid- and small-cap stocks concluded the day on a good note.
The rupee lost three paise versus the US dollar today in the currency market, settling at 74.73 (provisional) against the greenback amid sluggish domestic stocks and weaker global indications.
On a stock-by-stock basis, Baja Auto rose more than 2% today after the business revealed plans to build a 300-crore electric vehicle (EV) production facility in Pune. On the BSE, Bajaj Auto shares rose 2.94 percent to an intraday high of Rs 3,270.
Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries all rose over 2% on Wednesday after the Medicine Controller General of India (DCGI) approved the use of an antiviral drug called Molnupiravir as an emergency treatment for the pandemic.
PVR and INOX Leisure both lost nearly 3% today after the Delhi government announced limitations as part of its ‘Level 1’ or ‘Yellow Alert’ in response to an increase in Omicron cases in the national capital. To combat the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus strain, all cinema halls or multiplexes in Delhi will be closed under the new instructions.
