Indian equity markets showed resilience with the S&P BSE Sensex advancing 399 points or 0.52% in pre-opening trade, while the Nifty 50 index gained 118.05 points or 0.50% to 24,132.45 as of 14:28 IST. According to reports from Business Standard, the broader market indices also participated in the rally with the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index adding 0.35% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index jumping 0.76%. Market breadth remained strong with 2,642 shares rising and 1,625 shares falling on the BSE, while 209 shares remained unchanged. Latest trading data shows the Sensex surged over 400 points or 0.54% to touch an intraday high of 77,223 in morning trade, while the Nifty traded more than 100 points or 0.51% higher at 24,137. The positive momentum was driven by easing crude oil prices and geopolitical concerns in West Asia.
The Nifty Pharma index added 1.17% to 24,746.80, marking its third consecutive day of gains with a 2.48% jump over the three-session period. As reported by Business Standard, major pharmaceutical stocks drove the sector's performance with Cipla surging 4.6%, Ajanta Pharma gaining 4.09%, Mankind Pharma rising 3.69%, Dr Reddy's Laboratories up 1.93%, and Laurus Labs advancing 1.61%. Other notable gainers included Biocon (up 1.53%) and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 1.02%). However, some stocks like Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 1.34%) and Aurobindo Pharma (down 0.94%) declined during the session. The pharma sector's strong performance contributed to the overall market rally alongside other sectors.
Emcure Pharmaceuticals Ltd emerged as the top gainer, surging 4.72% to trade at ₹1,925.00 per share, according to Dalal Street Investment Journal. Century Enka Ltd gained 4.69% to trade at ₹1,274.65 and Tata Chemicals Ltd advanced 4.41% to trade at ₹759.70 per share. In the pre-opening session, IT stocks led the gains with the Nifty IT index rising over 1%, while the Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom and Nifty Oil & Gas indices also advanced about 0.8% each. According to latest reports, consumer durables, financial services, media and metal stocks traded in positive territory, with all sectoral indices trading higher in early deals. However, some sectors faced pressure with auto, pharma, realty and FMCG indices posting modest gains.
In the commodities sector, international benchmark Brent crude declined over 2% to $78.74 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 3% to $74.98 per barrel. This decline in crude oil prices provided additional support to the broader market rally. On the sectoral front, in the pre-opening session, declined by 0.26%, power zoomed by 0.33%, and auto surged by 0.59%. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.35% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index jumped 0.76%, indicating broad-based participation in the market rally.
Divgi Torqtransfer Systems added 1.97% after the company announced that it has secured a strategic order from an existing leading Indian original equipment manufacturer (OEM). According to Business Standard, NOCIL hit the 20% upper circuit after the government imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of Sulphenamides Accelerators from China, the European Union and the United States for a period of five years. Among the top losers on the Nifty, IndiGo, Titan, Grasim Industries and Bharti Airtel were among the stocks that declined during the session. These corporate developments contributed to the positive market sentiment during the trading session.
