Nifty trades above 23,000 level; pharma shares jump for 4th day

The key equity indices traded with moderate gains in mid-morning trade on Friday. Market participants also assessed corporate earnings for further cues on the market's direction. The Nifty traded above the 23,000 level, ahead of the September quarter results of Reliance Industries and Jio Platforms, scheduled for release later in the day.

Pharma shares extended gains for the fourth consecutive trading session.

At 11:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex jumped 341.41 points or 0.45% to 74,497.54. The Nifty 50 index rose 106.10 points or 0.47% to 23,044.30.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The Nifty MidCap 150 Index rose declined 0.78% and the Nifty SmallCap 250 Index fell 1.44%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 961 shares rose and 2, 339 shares fell. A total of 99 shares were unchanged.

Initial Public offer (IPO)

BLS Polymers received bids for 2,87,05,58,600 shares as against 1,19,00,000 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:25 IST on 30 October 2026. The issue was subscribed 241.22 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 27 October 2026 and will close on 29 October 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 142 and 150 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 100 equity shares and multiples thereof.

SFC Environmental Technologies received bids for 13,41,33,255 shares as against 1,41,59,744 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:25 IST on 30 October 2026. The issue was subscribed 9.47 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 27 October 2026 and will close on 29 October 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 313 and 330 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 45 equity shares and multiples thereof.

M. K. Sons Fine Jewels received bids for 2,32,89,721 shares as against 1,19,00,000 crore shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:25 IST on 29 October 2026. The issue was subscribed 1.96 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 28 October 2026 and will close on 30 October 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 153 and 162 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 91 equity shares and multiples thereof.

Bombay Coated & Special Steels received bids for 5,10,60,282 shares as against 1,65,33,012 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 11:25 IST on 29 October 2026. The issue was subscribed 3.09 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 29 October 2026 and will close on 2 November 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 78 and 82 per share. An investor can bid for a minimum of 182 equity shares and multiples thereof.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index jumped 1.59% to 27,136.10. The index surged 7.13% in the four consecutive trading sessions.

Laurus Labs (up 4.89%), Zydus Lifesciences (up 4.02%), Piramal Pharma (up 3.44%), Sai Life Sciences (up 2.57%) and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 1.73%), Divis Laboratories (up 1.55%), Torrent Pharmaceuticals (up 1.44%), Mankind Pharma (up 1.41%), Ajanta Pharma (up 0.9%) and Gland Pharma (up 0.76%) surged.

Global Market:

Dow futures fell 107 points, signalling a negative opening for US stocks.

Asian equities came under pressure on Friday as Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept interest unchanged at 1.25%. The BOJ also upgraded its inflation forecast for its fiscal year 2027 to 2.6% from 2.4%, with the so-called ?core-core? inflation forecast also raised to 2.7% from 2.6%

US stocks ended lower on Thursday, as disappointing technology earnings and concerns over AI investment returns weighed on investor sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 132.54 points, or 0.25%, to 52,342.56. The S&P 500 fell 23.59 points, or 0.30%, to 7,720.39, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 365.13 points, or 1.38%, to 26,184.72.

Alphabet shares plunged 12.64% on Thursday, marking their worst daily decline on record, after its third-quarter revenue missed market expectations. Revenue increased 25% year on year to $127.58 billion, against the analyst estimate of $127.97 billion. Earnings per share stood at $2.12, below expectations of approximately $2.94.

Google Cloud revenue surged 103% to $30.7 billion, but concerns over heavy AI-related capital expenditure and the returns from these investments overshadowed the growth.

ServiceNow and Fortinet also faced heavy selling following their financial updates. Both stocks declined more than 20%, adding to pressure on the technology sector.

After the US market close, Intel shares plunged more than 17% in extended trading after the company issued a weaker-than-expected outlook. Intel reported third-quarter revenue of $16.5 billion, up 21% year on year, and non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.52. It forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $15 billion to $16 billion and non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.25.

Amazon shares fell more than 5% in extended trading despite strong cloud growth. Third-quarter net sales increased 12% to $201.94 billion, while AWS revenue rose 39% to $46 billion. Operating income increased to $28.08 billion from $17.42 billion a year earlier.

However, trailing 12-month free cash flow turned negative at $42.36 billion, compared with positive free cash flow of $14.79 billion a year earlier. Amazon maintained its 2026 capital expenditure forecast of approximately $220 billion. Its fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $240 billion to $247 billion also disappointed investors.

The US economy expanded at an annualised rate of 3.4% in the third quarter of 2026, according to the advance estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday. This compared with growth of 2.2% in the second quarter and exceeded the approximately 3% market forecast.

Consumer spending rose at a 3.8% annualised rate, while business investment also contributed to growth. Investment in information-processing equipment increased sharply, reflecting continued spending on AI-related infrastructure. The GDP figure is preliminary and subject to revision.

Meanwhile, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, increased 0.5% month on month in September, compared with 0.3% in August. Annual inflation accelerated to 3.6% from 3.4%.

Core PCE inflation, excluding food and energy, rose 0.3% month on month and 3.1% year on year, compared with 3.0% in August. The monthly increases were in line with market expectations.

Personal consumption expenditure increased 0.5% in September, while real consumer spending was unchanged. The data indicated that inflationary pressures remained elevated despite resilient economic growth.

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