Sensex, Nifty retrace losses; drug makers gain

The BSE Sensex and Nifty retraced some of their earlier losses in afternoon trade on Wednesday, tracking positive opening of European equities.

Money was seen moving into pharmaceutical stocks like Strides Arcolab, Ranbaxy Laboratories and Piramal Healthcare on the back of drug approvals and expectations of the same. Strides Arcolab shares surged as much as 5.9% after it got USFDA nod for Vancomycin capsules. Ranbaxy shares also gained on hopes of generic Sotret launch in US under an exclusive deal with Cipher Pharmaceuticals. Piramal Healthcare said it got European approval for cartilage repair product. Earlier, stocks fell nearly 1% as lenders were hit by rising doubts about whether the central bank will cut rates next week, which exacerbated concerns over a sector facing an acute liquidity crunch and lower lending due to high interest rates. However, bank shares recovered later on talk that the Reserve Bank of India may cut the cash reserve ratio at its April 17 policy. State Bank of India was up 0.3%, after falling 1.6% in early trade. Cement stocks extended their fall to become the top losers in futures and options market on rumours that Competition Commission of India's (CCI) ruling on alleged cartelisation by companies is expected shortly. India's main BSE Index was last down 0.4%, while the NSE index lost 0.5%.