Indian shares gain on pharma, banking boost; Nykaa drops over 7%

Laurus Labs

15/11/2021 05:47

(Recasts, adds analyst comment, updates shares)
    BENGALURU, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Indian shares rose on Monday,
boosted by banking, auto, and pharmaceutical stocks, with
sentiment aided by upbeat Asian markets following strong Chinese
economic data. 
    The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index  .NSEI  rose 0.18% to
18,135.5 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex  .BSESN  rose 0.21% to
60,811.7 by 0459 GMT.
    The Nifty Pharma Index  .NIPHARM  was up about 1.13%, led by
Laurus Labs  LAUL.NS  and Biocon Ltd  BION.NS  that rose 6.5%
and 2.3% respectively.
    Apollo Hospitals  APLH.NS  climbed 9% after the company's
net profit and revenue rose in the September quarter. 
    Top gainers on the indexes included government-run Oil and
Natural Gas Corporation  ONGC.NS , up as much as 4.91%, after
reporting a near seven-fold jump in second-quarter net profit.
    Indian cosmetics-to-fashion platform FSN E-Commerce Ventures
Ltd  FSNE.NS , which owns the Nykaa brand, fell as much as 7.4%
on Monday. 
    In its first earnings report following a blockbuster market
debut last week, the Falguni Nayar-led Nykaa on Sunday reported
a 96% slump in quarterly net profit, hurt by higher marketing
and advertisement expenses.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2S114G
    Among market debutants, SoftBank-backed PolicyBazaar's
parent PB Fintech  PBFI.NS  opened at a premium 17% to the IPO
price. Refined wood pulp maker Sigachi Industries  SIGC.NS 
listed at a 250% premium over its IPO price of 163 rupees.
    "The domestic market looks comfortable, with a lot of IPOs
and an overall good quarterly performance by Indian companies,"
said Sumit Pokharna, VP Research at Kotak Securities. 
    He also said that the market was upbeat about the listing of
new digital companies, and that the only concerns that remain
are global factors such as inflation and a strengthening dollar.
    In broader Asian markets, shares edged higher as Chinese
economic data surprised on the high side, with annual growth in
retail sales and industrial output both handily beating
forecasts.  MKTS/GLOB 
    
($1 = 74.3620 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Vishwadha Chander in Bengaluru; editing by
Uttaresh.V)
 ((Vishwadha.Chander@thomsonreuters.com; Mobile: +91 7506036802;
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vishwadha;))