Barometers slip into red; pharma shares outperform

The key equity barometers failed to hold on to gains and turned negative in mid-morning trade. The Nifty traded below the 15,750 mark. Pharma shares, however, extended rising streak for second consecutive session.

At 11:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 41.51 points or 0.08% to 52,652.06. The Nifty 50 index lost 10.60 points or 0.07% to 15,721.50.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.48% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.59%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1915 shares rose and 1159 shares fell. A total of 125 shares were unchanged.

Volatility persisted in markets across the globe ahead of the US Fed's decision on interest rates, which will be announced later today. Friday's red-hot inflation data from the US has raised the market expectations of an interest rate hike by 75 basis points, the largest in 28 years.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index rose 0.41% to 12,268.10. The index has added 0.63% in two sessions.

Strides Pharma Science (up 2.24%), Ipca Laboratories (up 1.37%), Gland Pharma (up 1.19%), Natco Pharma (up 1.17%), and Divis Laboratories (up 1.11%) were the top index gainers.

Among the other gainers were Alkem Laboratories (up 0.95%), Cipla (up 0.82%), Lupin (up 0.69%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 0.45%) and Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries (up 0.22%).

Global markets:

Asian stocks were trading mixed on Wednesday, following overnight losses on Wall Street as the S&P 500 fell deeper into bear market territory.

China's industrial output climbed 0.7% in May as compared with a year earlier, official data showed Wednesday, rising from the April's 2.9% decline. Meanwhile, retail sales in May fell 6.7% year-on-year.

However, as Beijing saw clusters of COVID-19 outbreaks, the Beijing authorities warned on Tuesday that the city was in a "race against time", adding to worries that the resumption of stringent curbs could hurt its economy and global supply chain.

U.S. stock indexes had a mixed Tuesday on fears that red-hot inflation will prompt more aggressive rate increases from the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 tumbled 0.38% to close at 3,735.48. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 151.91 points, or 0.5%, to settle at 30,364.83. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.18% to finish at 10,828.35.

Recession fears in the US continued to loom large ahead of the US Fed's policy outcome due on Wednesday. A major foreign brokerage has reportedly forecast a 75-basis point (bp) interest rate hike from the Fed's June policy meeting on Wednesday. A 75-bp hike would reportedly be the biggest since 1994.

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