Barometers pare gains; pharma shares rally

The domestic equity benchmarks reversed all gains and traded with minor losses in mid-afternoon trade. Nifty traded tad below the 23,700 level. Pharma shares rallied for the fourth consecutive trading session.

At 14:30 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex slipped 45.01 points or 0.06% to 75,353.71. The Nifty 50 index fell 10 points or 0.04% to 23,678.70.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index declined 0.30% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index shed 0.20%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 2,818 shares rose and 2,238 shares fell. A total of 216 shares were unchanged.

Fuel Hike

Petrol and diesel prices were increased across India on Friday with immediate effect as oil marketing companies raised rates by up to Rs 3 per liter due to continued fluctuations in global crude oil prices.

In Delhi, petrol prices went up by Rs 3 to Rs 97.77 per litre, while diesel now costs Rs 90.67 per litre.

Among the metro cities, Kolkata saw the highest increase in petrol prices, rising by Rs 3.29 to Rs 108.74 per liter. In Mumbai, petrol prices increased by Rs 3.14 to Rs 106.68 per litre, while Chennai recorded a hike of Rs 2.83, taking the rate to Rs 103.67 per litre.

Diesel prices also rose across major cities. In Kolkata, diesel now costs Rs 95.13 per liter after a Rs 3.11 hike. Mumbai saw diesel prices increase by Rs 3.11 to Rs 93.14 per liter, while Chennai recorded a Rs 2.86 rise, taking diesel prices to Rs 95.25 per liter.

LNG prices were also raised by Rs 2 per kg. The hike comes amid a sharp rise in wholesale fuel inflation in April, driven by higher prices of crude oil, natural gas, petrol, diesel, and LPG.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index rose 0.38% to 24,644.10. The index jumped 3.33% in the four consecutive trading sessions.

Biocon (up 2.63%), Zydus Lifesciences (up 2.13%), Mankind Pharma (up 1.8%), Dr Reddys Laboratories (up 1.64%), Ipca Laboratories (up 1.25%), Abbott India (up 1.02%), Piramal Pharma (up 1%), Lupin (up 0.96%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 0.9%) and Wockhardt (up 0.64%) jumped.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.88% to 7.083 compared with the previous session close of 7.021.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee hovered at 95.9325 compared with its previous close of 95.6400.

MCX Gold futures for 5 June 2026 settlement fell 1.81% to Rs 1,59,051.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.29% to 99.17.

The United States 10-year bond yield rose 1.88% to 4.541.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for July 2026 settlement rose $3.44 or 3.25% to $109.16 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Chalet Hotels rallied 4.60% after the company's consolidated net profit jumped 31.64% to Rs 163.02 crore on 6.94% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 558.21 crore in Q4 FY26 over Q4 FY25.

Allied Blenders and Distillers rose 0.43%. The company reported a 47.90% year-on-year (YoY) decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 40.97 crore in Q4 FY26, compared with Rs 78.64 crore in the same quarter last year. Despite the fall in profit, revenue from operations (excluding excise duty) rose 9.36% YoY to Rs 1,006.89 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2026.

Indian Hume Pipe Company fell 1.76% after the company's net profit tanked 95.39% to Rs 22.98 crore on 10.40% decline in revenue from operations to Rs 351.29 crore in Q4 March 2026 over Q4 March 2025.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News