Sun Pharma subsidiary Taro's dismal June quarter performance triggered a sharp correction in pharma stocks on the stock exchanges, causing the benchmark indices to end trading with losses for the third straight day on Wednesday. The BSE Sensex ended 216 points down at 31,797 while the NSE Nifty closed 70 points lower at 9,908.
Sun Pharma was the biggest Sensex loser, ending 5.13 percent lower at Rs 474 in response to Taro reporting 50 percent drop in net profit to $54.5 million on 31 percent fall in revenues to $161 million. Net profit took a hit because of the pricing pressure in the US.
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Other pharma stocks that ended with significant losses included Cadila Healthcare, NATCO Pharma, Granules India and Aurobindo Pharma.
Top NSE Nifty losers included Aurobindo Pharma (down 6.08 percent), Sun Pharma, Cipla, Adani Ports and Tata Motors. The NSE Nifty Pharma plunged 3.94 percent, the highest among sectoral indices on Wednesday.
In related news, textile company Bombay Dyeing will declare its June quarter results on Thursday (August 10). The stock closed 2.43 percent lower at Rs 78.25 on the BSE.
While the trade data for Wednesday is yet to be released, the National Stock Exchange's provisional statistics for Tuesday showed foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Indian equities worth Rs 1,539 crore while their domestic counterparts (DIIs) closed the day with a net-buy position of Rs 798 crore, despite stock market ending with losses.
