Markets close lower, pharma stocks surge, banking and FMCG stocks fall

Nifty 50 closed at 11515.95 (-0.2, 0%) , BSE Sensex closed at 38845.82 (-134.0, -0.3%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 9566.15 (-0.6, -0.0%)

Market breadth is in the red. Of the 1680 stocks traded today, 666 were on the uptrend, and 926 went down.

ICRA, Elgi Equipments, Suprajit Engineering, Thermax, and Brigade Enterprises are trading with rising delivery volumes.
Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bandhan Bank, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, and Punjab National Bank trade in the red as banking stocks fall.
Hindustan Unilever, Nestle India, Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Healthcare, and Britannia Industries are trading in the red as FMCG stocks fall.
AIA Engineering, Sumitomo Chemical India, Rajesh Exports, and Ajanta Pharma are trading in the green with volume higher than the weekly average.
Axis Direct is a 'Buy' on Dalmia Bharat citing the group company's capacity expansion, strong market position, and cost-efficient operations.
Sudarshan Chemical Industries, Cadila Healthcare, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, Natco Pharma, Divi's Laboratories, and Granules India are trading in the green having hit fresh 52-week highs.
ICICI Securities is a 'Buy' on Intellect Design Arena citing the software company's huge addressable market, and deal pipeline as key growth drivers.
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Lupin, Cipla, and Divi's Laboratories are surging as pharma stocks pull the market higher.
Sterling and Wilson Solar is rising as the solar energy company bags an order of Rs. 462 crores in Chile beginning in Q4FY21.
The promoter group of Trident is steadily reacquiring the company's equity. This week alone over 53.4 lakh shares were reacquired.
Essel Propack is falling as the packaging company's major backer Blackstone Group plans to sell a 23% stake in the company for an estimated $251 million (~Rs. 1,844.2 crores).
Nifty 50 was trading at 11563.30 (47.2, 0.4%) , BSE Sensex was trading at 39085.70 (105.9, 0.3%) while the broader Nifty 500 was trading at 9609.45 (42.7, 0.5%)
Market breadth is overwhelmingly positive. Of the 1512 stocks traded today, 986 were in the positive territory and 434 were negative.

Riding High:

Largecap and midcap gainers today include Natco Pharma Ltd. (890.80, 15.20%), Rajesh Exports Ltd. (509.35, 10.75%) and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. (5333.35, 10.48%).

Downers:

Largecap and midcap losers today include Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd. (67.55, -4.93%), Trent Ltd. (682.00, -4.41%) and GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (1697.90, -3.72%).

Volume Shockers

50 stocks in BSE 500 are trading on high volumes today.

Top high volume gainers on BSE included Natco Pharma Ltd. (890.80, 15.20%), Rajesh Exports Ltd. (509.35, 10.75%) and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. (5333.35, 10.48%).

Top high volume losers on BSE were Essel Propack Ltd. (251.85, -7.66%), Suzlon Energy Ltd. (3.10, -4.62%) and Repco Home Finance Ltd. (166.80, -4.60%).

AIA Engineering Ltd. (1865.65, 6.01%) was trading at 13.2 times of weekly average. Hawkins Cookers Ltd. (5480.00, 0.64%) and Cholamandalam Financial Holdings Ltd. (429.10, -2.95%) were trading with volumes 11.2 and 10.7 times weekly average respectively on BSE at the time of posting this article.

BSE 500: highs, lows and moving averages

34 stocks hit their 52 week highs,

Stocks touching their year highs included - Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. (1828.45, 2.89%), Bayer Cropscience Ltd. (6352.20, 6.84%) and Biocon Ltd. (454.00, 2.67%).

15 stocks climbed above their 200 day SMA including Oberoi Realty Ltd. (429.35, 5.23%) and Welspun Corp Ltd. (114.95, 3.70%). 16 stocks slipped below their 200 SMA including Mahindra CIE Automotive Ltd. (122.30, -5.16%) and Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd. (67.55, -4.93%).