Pharma stocks surged on Wednesday, with shares rallying up to 7% as strong earnings and a weakening rupee lifted investor sentiment. According to reports from The Economic Times, the Nifty Pharma index rebounded from early losses to rise nearly 1%, crossing the 25,000 mark and hitting a fresh 52-week high of 25,043 during early trade before trimming some gains. The sectoral rally came even as benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty traded in the red, highlighting the specific strength in pharmaceutical stocks. As per Business Standard, the Nifty 50 index fell 45.90 points or 0.20% to 23,563.05, while the Sensex declined 150.19 points or 0.20% to 75,049.92 at 13:30 IST. The broader market showed mixed performance with the BSE 150 MidCap Index rising 0.02% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index falling 0.27%.
The Indian currency fell to 96.9575 per dollar, touching an all-time intraday low before recovering to 96.8850 compared with its close of 96.7000 during the previous trading session. As reported by The Economic Times, the currency is down 6% since the Iran war began in late February, with a falling rupee typically considered positive for the export-heavy pharma sector. This currency weakness provided additional support for pharmaceutical companies' export-oriented business models, with the weakening rupee creating favorable conditions for the sector's export-dependent operations.
Mankind Pharma shares surged over 3% following the company's strong Q4 results. According to The Economic Times, the company reported a 32% YoY rise in consolidated net profit to ₹554 crore for the fourth quarter of FY2026, compared to ₹421 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. The firm's revenue from operations rose 12% YoY to ₹3,443 crore during the quarter under review, demonstrating robust operational performance. Other notable gainers included Laurus Labs, Aurobindo Pharma, and Biocon shares, which gained around 1% each, while those of Lupin, Sun Pharma, Cipla, Torrent Pharma, and Divi's Laboratories were trading in the green with marginal gains as seen at 11 am.
Zydus Lifesciences announced its biggest-ever share buyback worth ₹1,100 crore via the tender route at a buyback price of ₹1,150 per share, offering nearly a 13% premium over the stock's previous closing price. As reported by The Economic Times, the company's board has also recommended a final dividend of Re 1 per share (100%) on a face value of Re 1 each, subject to shareholders' approval at the company's Annual General Meeting scheduled for August 11. However, bucking the trend, Ajanta Pharma, Piramal Pharma, Gland Pharma, Dr Reddy's Labs, Abbot India, Glenmark, Alkem Labs, and IPCA Labs shares fell up to 1% during the session.
While pharma stocks rallied, the Nifty IT index opened lower but later surged to an intraday high of 0.71% before paring gains to trade 0.10% higher, but the broader undertone remained weak. According to ET Now, several frontline IT names continue to correct sharply from their highs and are now drifting closer to their respective 52-week lows. TCS, the sector heavyweight, is trading at ₹2,327.1, down marginally by 0.4% intraday, yet the longer-term picture remains weak with the stock having fallen ₹1,272.9 from its 52-week high of ₹3,600 and now just ₹120.7 above its 52-week low of ₹2,206.4. Infosys shows a similar trend, trading at ₹1,196.9, down ₹531.1 from its 52-week high of ₹1,728, and is only ₹107.9 above its low of ₹1,089. Despite the corrections, IT companies continue to maintain stable dividend payouts - TCS leads with ₹395 per share in FY26, up from ₹240 in FY25, while Infosys declared ₹12 in FY26 following ₹76 in FY25.
