The Nifty 50 index was up 0.06% at 17,955.90 as of 10:40 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex was higher by 0.17% at 61,116.34. The benchmarks swung between 0.4% gains and 0.3% losses during the session.
Seven of the 13 major sectoral indexes fell with pharma index losing nearly 1%. Cipla , the second highest weighted stock in the pharma index,
tumbled
nearly 7%, to a near-seven-month low after the company's
Pithampur unit received eight observations from the U.S. drug
regulator after inspection. The stock was the top Nifty 50
loser.
Beating the weak sentiment, Hindustan Unilever rose nearly 1% and was among the top Nifty 50 gainers after the FMCG major agreed to sell and divest brands in its foods business, including "Annapurna" and "Captain Cook." Bharti Airtel rose over 2% after Goldman Sachs reiterated a "buy" rating on the stock and forecast a 15% annual revenue growth rate from this fiscal year through 2025. The ongoing concerns over the future rate hiking path in the U.S. remained an overhang after official data showed a rise in export prices in January.
"Inflation remains the number one risk to global markets although the markets do not seem to be pricing the risk adequately," said Pramod Gubbi, co-founder of Marcellus Investment Managers.
However, a revival in the capex cycle should aid economic recovery and contribute to the resilience of domestic equities, Gubbi added. Indian markets are likely to trade between 17,800 and 18,300 in the near term, two analysts said, adding that lingering concerns on Fed rate hikes and the likelihood of global growth slowdown would offset a potential upsurge due to attractive valuations.
Investors await the minutes of the Fed's meeting, due on Wednesday, to assess the U.S. central bank's future rate hiking path. U.S. markets will be closed on Monday for a local holiday.
($1 = 82.7310 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Dhanya Ann Thoppil)
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