The S&P BSE Sensex advanced 425.91 points or 0.55% to 77,480.85 at 12:30 IST, while the Nifty 50 index added 117.25 points or 0.49% to 24,169.15. According to reports from Business Standard, the broader market showed strong performance with the BSE 150 MidCap Index jumping 0.67% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index climbing 0.85%. Market breadth remained positive with 2,428 shares rising and 1,573 shares falling on the BSE, while 203 shares remained unchanged. The gains were supported by positive global cues after softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data eased concerns over further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
The Nifty Pharma index jumped 0.74% to 26,099.75, extending gains for the second consecutive trading session with a 1.77% rally over two sessions. As reported by Business Standard, Zydus Lifesciences led gains with a 2.75% increase, followed by Mankind Pharma up 2.67%, Ipca Laboratories rising 1.86%, Wockhardt advancing 1.53%, and Divis Laboratories up 1.5%. Other notable gainers included Lupin (up 1.36%) and Ajanta Pharma (up 1.33%). On the downside, Gland Pharma declined 1.07%, Dr Reddys Laboratories fell 0.94%, and Biocon dropped 0.38%. The sector has now surged 14.53% year-to-date (YTD), significantly outperforming the Nifty 50's 7.87% decline. The strong performance is driven by improving earnings visibility, resilient growth in domestic formulations, and a shift towards defensive sectors amid heightened market volatility.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market volatility, declined 4.61% to 13.12, indicating reduced market uncertainty. According to Business Standard, the Nifty 28 July 2026 futures were trading at 24,183.50 at a premium of 14.35 points compared to the spot price. The Nifty option chain for the 28 July 2026 expiry showed maximum call open interest of 67.9 lakh contracts at the 25,000 strike price, while maximum put open interest of 63.9 lakh contracts was seen at a 24,000 strike price. Investors will continue to monitor developments in the US-Iran conflict, movements in crude oil prices, the ongoing Q1 earnings season, corporate business updates, and the progress of the southwest monsoon for further cues on market direction.
Sudeep Shah, Head of Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, noted that the Nifty Pharma index continues to exhibit a higher-high, higher-low pattern, reaffirming the prevailing bullish trend. The index is trading comfortably above its key short- and long-term moving averages, indicating sustained buying momentum. According to Shah, the 25,300-25,350 zone, which coincides with the previous swing low and the 20-day exponential moving average (EMA), is likely to act as a crucial support level. As long as the index remains above this range, he expects the broader uptrend to stay intact with room for further gains. Hitesh Rathi, Technical Analyst at Angel One, pointed out that the index continues to trade in a well-established primary uptrend across multiple Point & Figure chart timeframes, with a running Double Top Buy signal visible on daily charts. However, he cautioned that the sharp rally has pushed the index well above its key moving averages, making it somewhat stretched in the near term.
Brokerages expect the pharmaceutical and hospital sectors to deliver healthy revenue growth in Q1FY27, supported by a strong recovery in domestic formulations following the GST-related transition and resilient demand across speciality healthcare segments. Sunny Agrawal, Head of Fundamental Research at SBI Securities, expects the June quarter to witness healthy year-on-year revenue growth for most pharmaceutical companies, led by sustained strength in domestic formulations. Among his preferred long-term picks, Agrawal highlighted Sun Pharma, Ajanta Pharma, Alkem Laboratories, Divi's Laboratories and Zydus Lifesciences. Despite the recent re-rating in pharma stocks, Agrawal remains constructive on the sector's medium-term outlook, citing sustained growth in domestic healthcare demand and expanding global outsourcing opportunities in the CDMO and API segments. However, he believes any further upside is likely to be driven more by earnings growth than valuation expansion.
