At 11:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 152.69 points or 0.21% to 71,859.36. The Nifty 50 index shed 46.15 points or 0.21% to 21,771.30.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.52% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.60%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,307 shares rose and 2,244 shares fell. A total of 132 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The provisional figures of Gross collection of Direct Taxes (before adjusting for refunds) for the Financial Year 2023-24 stand at Rs 22,27,067 crore compared to Rs 18,75,535 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding financial year, showing a growth of 18.74% over the collections of FY 2022-23.

The Gross collection of Rs 22,27,067 crore includes Corporation Tax (CIT) at Rs 10,98,183 crore and Personal Income Tax (PIT) including Securities Transaction Tax (STT) at Rs 11,25,228 crore. Minor head wise collection comprises Advance Tax of Rs 9,11,534 crore; Tax Deducted at Source of Rs 10,44,511 crore; Self-Assessment Tax of Rs. 1,73,296 crore; Regular Assessment Tax of Rs 73,548 crore; and Tax under other minor heads of Rs 24,177 crore.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index shed 0.89% 18,242.15. The index slipped 3.04% in the past two trading sessions.

Laurus Labs (down 3%), Gland Pharma (down 2.61%), Abbott India (down 2.07%), Zydus Lifesciences (down 1.76%), Alkem Laboratories (down 1.72%), Granules India (down 1.39%), Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries (down 1.18%), Dr Reddys Laboratories (down 0.98%), Sanofi India (down 0.9%) and Divis Laboratories (down 0.77%) declined.

On the other hand, Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals (up 2.05%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 1.14%) and Biocon (up 0.14%) advanced.

Aurobindo Pharma added 1.14% after the drug maker received final approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Mometasone Furoate Monohydrate Nasal Spray.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Jupiter Wagons shed 0.68%. The company said that its board has considered and approved the acquisition of Bonatrans India, which shall eventually become the subsidiary company upon completion of acquisition.

Deccan Gold Mines (DGML) jumped 5.81% after the company announced that its subsidiary Deccan Gold Tanzania has discovered a gold block in the Nzega-Tabora Greenstone belt, Tanzania.

GPT Healthcare rallied 5.75% after the company’s consolidated net profit jumped 37.37% to Rs 11.47 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with Rs 8.35 crore in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations increased 3.88% YoY to Rs 96.59 crore in the quarter ended 31 December 2023.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks advanced on Wednesday after US equities rose overnight and bonds also rallied as traders brace for the latest monetary policy decision from the Federal Reserve. Japanese markets are closed for a holiday.

Wall Street's three major indexes closed higher on Tuesday after shares in hotshot chipmaker Nvidia shook off early losses and investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's policy meeting conclusion on Wednesday for clues on interest rate policy.