Pharma, IT stocks lift Indian shares at the start of data-heavy week

FE Team | Published: August 07, 2023 23:32:19

BENGALURU, Aug 7 (Reuters): Indian shares rose on Monday, helped by pharma and information technology (IT) stocks, amid caution in a data-heavy week that includes the US inflation print and the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy decision.
The Nifty 50 index settled 0.41 per cent higher at 19,597.30, while the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.35 per cent to 65,953.48.
Broader indexes mirrored their larger peers, with the more domestic-focused midcaps and smallcaps adding 0.51 per cent and 0.22 per cent, respectively.
"A lot of flows have been coming into the small and midcap funds rather than diversified equity funds, probably because investors are looking at returns in the recent past," said Rajeev Thakkar, chief investment officer and director at PPFAS Asset Management.
"With results season approaching an end, stock-specific action will continue with incremental moves in the benchmarks ahead of US inflation data and RBI policy meeting on Thursday," said Narendra Solanki, head of fundamental research - investment services, at Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers.
Nine of the 13 major sectoral indexes logged gains, with the pharma index jumping 1.56 per cent to a record high.
Among individual stocks, Aurobindo Pharma jumped 3.17 per cent to a near two-year high after the US health regulator completed a pre-approval inspection at its formulation manufacturing facility.
Mahindra & Mahindra climbed 4.25 per cent and was among the top Nifty gainers after the automaker reported that its quarterly profit nearly doubled.
On the flip side, Britannia dropped 2.68 per cent, the most on the Nifty, after the biscuits maker reported quarterly earnings below market estimates.
Paytm surged as much as 6.79 per cent on the fintech firm's founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma's plan to buy back a 10.3 per cent stake in the company from a unit of China's Ant Financial.