Indices trade with major gains; pharma shares in demand

The key equity benchmarks traded with robust gains in the mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 24,250 mark. Pharma shares advanced after declining for the past consecutive trading session.

At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 815.60 points or 1.04% to 79,408.67. The Nifty 50 index added 290.75 points or 1.21% to 24,283.35.

The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index jumped 2.39% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 2.19%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,939 shares rose and 936 shares fell. A total of 107 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, dropped 13.47% to 16.22.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index rose 1.92% to 21,977.20. The index shed 0.09% in the past consecutive trading sessions.

Lupin (up 4.16%), Natco Pharma (up 3.87%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 3.74%), Alkem Laboratories (up 3.28%), Biocon (up 3.23%), Zydus Lifesciences (up 3.2%), Torrent Pharmaceuticals (up 2.96%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 2.31%), Divis Laboratories (up 2.12%) and Abbott India (up 2.01%) advanced.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal rallied 1.64% to 6.985 as compared with previous close 6.985.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.9650, compared with its close of 83.9200 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 October 2024 settlement shed 0.04% to Rs 68,937.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.15% to 103.12.

The United States 10-year bond yield gained 1.19% to 3.928.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for October 2024 settlement added 27 cents or 0.35% to $76.75 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Cummins India jumped 6.92% after the company’s standalone net profit increased 33% to 419.8 crore on 4.02% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 2,262.03 crore in Q1 FY25 over Q1 FY24.

Caplin Point Laboratories added 1.03% after the company’s consolidated net profit jumped 19.8% to Rs 124.92 crore on 16.1% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 458.96 crore in Q1 FY25 over Q1 FY24.