Even though benchmarks Sensex and Nifty 50 have pared their early gains and were trading on a subdued level on Tuesday - the same was not the case for pharma stocks as they were upbeat despite rising Coronavirus cases which dampened investors confidence for equities. The progress in Covid vaccination continues to be the main focus for pharma companies in India.
Sensex was trading a little over 47,980. While Nifty 50 was performing near 14,374. Both were trading on a flat note.
Unlike benchmarks, investors found favour in pharma stocks. The Nifty Pharma index was trading at 13,567.40 higher by 311.15 points or 2.35% at around 2.05 pm.
The Nifty Pharma index has touched an intraday high of 13,573.55.
Cadila Healthcare and Cipla have hit a new all-time high of Rs568.90 per piece and Rs966.35 per piece respectively during early deals.
Cadila was the top gainer skyrocketing by 7.2% followed by
Dr Reddy's Lab surging by 4.7%.
Dr Reddy's in focus since it received the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) approval to import the Sputnik vaccine into India for restricted use in emergencies for Covid. Sputnik V is one of only three coronavirus vaccines registered by India’s regulatory authorities.
Dr Reddy's Lab has informed that Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be rolled out during May-end or early June.
Furthermore, on Nifty Pharma, Aurobindo Pharma and Sun Pharma climbed by 3.5% and 2.8% respectively. Lupin surged by 2.5%.
Nearly, 1% jump each was recorded in
Cipla and Torrent Pharma. Meanwhile, Divis Lab was marginally up and Alkem Lab traded on a muted level.
However, Biocon was the top underperformer tumbling by nearly 1%.
The government has announced the vaccination drive to be open for all citizens above the age of 18 from May 1. At present, the drive is restricted to citizens aged above 45.
As per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data today, India’s daily news cases are showing a rising trend. 2,59,170 new cases were registered in the last 24 hours.
Ten states including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Rajasthan report 77.67% of the new cases.
Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 58,924. It is followed by Uttar Pradesh with 28,211 while Delhi reported 23,686 new cases.