Sensex, Nifty Finish Weak As U.S. Strikes Syria; Pharma Stocks Hit The Worst

Indian share markets edged lower in the afternoon session tracking global markets as geopolitical concerns grew after the US launched cruise missiles against an air base in Syria. At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 221 points, while the NSE Nifty finished down 64 points. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Mid Cap and the S&P BSE Small Cap finished down by 0.3% and 0.5% respectively. Losses were largely seen in pharma stocks, metal stocks and realty stocks.

Shares of oil marketing companies advanced in today’s trade amid reports that the state-run companies may review fuel rates on a daily basis to align them with international prices.

Indian Oil Corporation share price surged 3.1%, BPCL share price finished 4.6% up and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation share price finished up by 2.2%.

Asian stock markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.36% and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.17%. The Hang Seng lost 0.03%. European markets are mixed to lower. Shares in Germany are off as the DAX drops 0.52%. The CAC 40 is down 0.34% while the FTSE 100 in London is unchanged.

The rupee was trading at Rs 64.39 against the US$ in the afternoon session. Oil prices were trading at US$ 52.51 at the time of writing.

Moving on to news from stocks in pharma sector. Cipla share price (CPLFY) finished the trading day up 0.1% on the NSE. It was reported that the company’s wholly owned subsidiary in USA – Cipla USA Inc., has signed a worldwide licensing agreement (except for East Asia) with MEDRx Company (MEDRx) to further develop and commercialize MRX-4TZT, a Tizanidine patch for the management of Spasticity.

Under the terms of the agreement, MEDRx is eligible to receive up to US$30 million cumulatively through upfront and developmental, regulatory, and commercial milestones payments. MEDRx will also receive tiered royalties on the net sales of commercialized licensed products.