Nifty fails to hold 24,750 mark; pharma shares rally

The key equity indices traded with major losses in early afternoon trade, weighed down by profit booking and weakness in index heavyweights, despite easing U.S.-China tensions. The Nifty slipped below the 24,750 mark. Pharma shares witnessed buying demand for the second consecutive trading session.

At 12:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 874.63 points or 1.07% to 81,551.37. The Nifty 50 index slipped 204.75 points or 0.82% to 24,719.95.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.57% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,527 shares rose and 1,247 shares fell. A total of 164 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, up 0.39% to 18.47. The Nifty 29 May 2025 futures were trading at 24,813.20, at a premium of 93.25 points as compared with the spot at 24,719.95.

The Nifty option chain for the 29 May 2025 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 45.1 lakh contracts at the 25,000 strike price. A maximum put OI of 60.6 lakh contracts was seen at a 24,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index jumped 1.58% to 21,436.95. The index rose 1.73% in two consecutive trading sessions.

Granules India (up 4.02%), Ajanta Pharma (up 4%), Lupin (up 3.15%), Divis Laboratories (up 3.03%) Ipca Laboratories (up 3.01%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 2.91%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 2.8%), Dr Reddys Laboratories (up 1.79%), Alkem Laboratories (up 1.63%) and Zydus Lifesciences (up 1.6%) surged.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) rose 0.03%. The company announced that its Buildings & Factories (B&F) vertical has secured large new orders from various state and central government undertakings in India. he value of the contract, according to L&T's internal classification, ranges between Rs 2,500 crore and Rs 5,000 crore.

Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services rallied 7.04% after the company's standalone net profit climbed 66.8% to Rs 31.96 crore on a 50.5% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 411.45 crore in Q4 FY25 over Q4 FY24.

Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences rose 0.51%. The company's consolidated net profit jumped 55.41% to Rs 101.80 crore on 25.73% rise in revenue from operations to Rs 796.90 crore in Q4 FY25 over Q4 FY24.

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