Pharma Stocks Lead Gains in Weak Market, Smallcap Indices Trump Benchmarks

By Malvika Gurung

Investing.com -- India's stock market had a weak trading session on Thursday following hawkish projections made by the Federal Reserve, as it hinted at possibilities of two more hikes going ahead, likely by 0.5% as inflation continued to run above target. 

At 12:12 pm, headlines Nifty50 dipped 0.16% to 18,725.75 levels and Sensex lost 154.27 points or 0.24%. The market fear barometer India VIX advanced up to 1% to 11.25 levels while writing.

Broader market indices outperformed the benchmark peers as Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 0.4% and Nifty Midcap 100 climbed 0.33%. 

Pharmaceutical and healthcare stocks drive gains on Dalal Street with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (NS:REDY), Divi's Laboratories (NS:DIVI) and Apollo Hospitals (NS:APLH) trading as top performers on the Nifty50 pack.

Sectoral indices listed under the Nifty umbrella traded mixed in Thursday’s session, with Nifty Pharma and Nifty Healthcare Index zooming 1.2% each. Nifty Bank declined 0.51%.

Market heavyweights M&M (NS:MAHM), Bharat Petroleum (NS:BPCL), Adani Enterprises (NS:ADEL), Maruti (NS:MRTI) and Cipla (NS:CIPL) added to the Street’s gains during the session, while IT and banking sectors’ mega-caps like Wipro (NS:WIPR), Infosys (NYSE:INFY) (NS:INFY), IndusInd Bank (NS:INBK), Kotak Mahindra Bank (NS:KTKM) and HDFC Life (NS:HDFL) exerted pressure, pulling the market lower.

Key US contracts Dow Futures slipped 0.11% and Nasdaq 100 Futures dropped 0.21%.