India's diagnostic, pharma stocks up as fears of COVID resurgence mount

Vijaya Diagnostic Centre

21/12/2022 09:01

** Shares of Indian diagnostic firms Dr Lal PathLabs Ltd
 DLPA.NS  and Vijaya Diagnostic Centre Ltd  VIJA.NS  mark their 
most active trading sessions in 2-6 months
    ** Around 1.2 mln DLPA shares change hands, highest since
May 27, while VIJA volume at its highest since Oct. 21
    ** Diagnostic firms in India made windfall profits from the
pandemic between 2020 and 2021, with millions of patients
getting tested for coronavirus infection. The profits have since
waned as India eased pandemic curbs
    ** Pharma and healthcare cos also up, with Nifty Pharma
 .NIPHARM  index rising as much as 2.42%
    ** Divi's Laboratories Ltd  DIVI.NS , Apollo Hospitals
Enterprise Ltd  APLH.NS  and Cipla Ltd  CIPL.NS  among top
gainers in a weaker NSE Nifty 50  .NSEI  index, with thin
trading
    ** Nifty Pharma index had notched its best-ever quarter in
the 3 months ended June 30, 2020 during the first wave of
COVID-19 pandemic in India, rising 39.1%
    ** China is racing to bolster its health system as a surge
in COVID cases sparks global concern
    ** "There is currently concerns over the rise in COVID cases
in China spreading to other parts of the world, which is why
we're seeing stocks rise across the pharma and health sectors,"
says Surya Patra, vice president, PhillipCapital (India)
 (Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru)
 ((Nandan.Mandayam@thomsonreuters.com; Mobile: +91 9591011727;))