Nifty above 23,200 level; pharma shares tumble for 3rd day

The key equity benchmarks traded with minor gains in early afternoon trade despite the ongoing war between Iran, Israel and US entering its third week, with crude oil prices crossing $100 per barrel mark. Investors are also closely tracking movements in crude oil and gold prices. The Nifty traded above the 23,200 level.

Pharma shares witnessed selling pressure for three consecutive trading sessions.

At 12:25 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 125.44 points or 0.17% to 74,689.36. The Nifty 50 index rose 37.20 points or 0.16% to 23,187.80.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index declined 1.01% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index fell 1.21%.

Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 1,184 shares rose and 2,960 shares fell. A total of 207 shares were unchanged.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2026 settlement jumped $1.90 or 1.84% to $105.84 a barrel.

Economy:

India?s wholesale price index (WPI) inflation accelerated to 2.13% in February 2026 compared with 1.81% in January 2026, marking an 11-month high. Food inflation edged higher to 1.85% during the month from 1.41% in January. Meanwhile, inflation in the fuel and power segment turned positive at 1.17% in February against a contraction of 1.62% in the previous month.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, dropped 3.04% to 21.96. The Nifty 30 March 2026 futures were trading at 23,237.50, at a premium of 49.7 points as compared with the spot at 23,187.80.

The Nifty option chain for the 30 March 2026 expiry showed a maximum call OI of 42.1 lakh contracts at the 24,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 46.5 lakh contracts was seen at the 23,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index fell 1.57% to 22,473.95. The index declined 3.74% in the three consecutive trading sessions.

Ajanta Pharma (down 2.94%), Biocon (down 2.93%), Piramal Pharma (down 2.73%), Torrent Pharmaceuticals (down 2.33%), Zydus Lifesciences (down 2.25%), Gland Pharma (down 2.13%), Laurus Labs (down 2.09%), Divis Laboratories (down 2.01%), Dr Reddys Laboratories (down 1.94%) and Mankind Pharma (down 1.7%) declined.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Aster DM Healthcare declined 3.67% after certain nursing staff across its hospitals in Kerala joined a statewide strike from 9 March 2026, led by the United Nurses Association, seeking revision in wage structures.

JK Lakshmi Cement declined 2.93%. The company announced that it has participated in the e-auction conducted by the Government of Assam and has been declared the ?Preferred Bidder? for the mining lease of the New Umrangso Limestone Block in Assam.

Britannia Industries shed 0.32%. The company said its shareholders have approved the appointment of Rakshit Hargave as chief executive officer (CEO) & managing director (MD) of the company through a postal ballot conducted via remote e-voting.

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