Sensex slumps 225 pts; pharma shares decline

The key equity benchmarks traded with minor losses in the early afternoon as investors engaged in profit-booking following Tuesday's sharp rally on Dalal Street spurred by the India'US trade deal. Market caution was further reinforced by escalating geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran, prompting participants to reassess near-term risk exposure.

The Nifty traded below the 25,750 mark. Pharma shares declined after advancing for previous two consecutive trading sessions.

At 11:28 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tanked 224.60 points or 0.27% to 83,518.71. The Nifty 50 index shed 23.45 points or 0.09% to 25,704.10.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE 150 MidCap Index shed 0.12% and the S&P BSE 250 SmallCap Index fell 0.14%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,332 shares rose and 1,527 shares fell. A total of 200 shares were unchanged.

RBI MPC:

The Reserve Bank's rate-setting panel will start its three-day meeting for the next bi-monthly monetary policy on Wednesday in the backdrop of growth-focused Union Budget, low inflation and more recently the long-awaited India-US trade deal ending prolonged uncertainty on the external front.

The decision of RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra-headed six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will be announced on Friday.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index fell 0.75% to 22,033.70. The index added 2.31% in the previous two consecutive trading session.

Mankind Pharma (down 3.58%), Aurobindo Pharma (down 3.4%), Divis Laboratories (down 2.16%), Gland Pharma (down 2.1%) and Ajanta Pharma (down 1.86%), Piramal Pharma (down 1.01%), Torrent Pharmaceuticals (down 0.81%), Alkem Laboratories (down 0.69%), J B Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (down 0.5%) and Lupin (down 0.29%) declined.

On the other hand, Abbott India (up 1.02%) ,Laurus Labs (up 0.79%) and Cipla (up 0.73%) added.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Axiscades Technologies hit an upper circuit of 5% after its subsidiary Mistral Solutions secured international contracts worth around $1.4 million from Axon Enterprise Inc. and Stratacache Inc., USA.

Mahindra & Mahindra advanced 1.42% after the company announced that it has secured its largest-ever export order for 35,000 light commercial vehicles (LCVs) to be delivered to Agrinas Pangan Nusantara, Indonesia, in 2026.

DAM Capital Advisors declined 4.55% after the company's consolidated net profit dropped 61.1% to Rs 20.06 crore on a 32.8% drop in total income to Rs 69.94 crore in Q3 FY26 over Q3 FY25.

Sheela Foam surged 18.50% after the company's consolidated net profit soared 211.97% to Rs 52.13 crore on 11.1% jump in revenue from operations to Rs 1,074.43 crore in Q3 FY26 over Q3 FY25.

Global Markets:

Asia market mostly fell Wednesday, tracking Wall Street losses after a sell-off in U.S. technology stocks weighed on sentiment.

Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 pulled back as investors dumped technology stocks and moved into shares more broadly linked to improvements in the economy.

The broad market index fell 0.84% and closed at 6,917.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 166.67 points, or 0.34%, to end at 49,240.99. Earlier, the 30-stock index rose as much as 0.5% to touch 49,653.13, a new record. The Nasdaq Composite shed 1.43%, settling at 23,255.19.

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