At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 350.09 points or 0.44% to 81,916.18. The Nifty 50 index added 104.15 points or 0.42% to 25,040.55.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.53% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.16%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,590 shares rose and 1,190 shares fell. A total of 120 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The GST Council has slashed the GST rate on cancer drugs from 12% to 5% to ease the financial burden on patients. It also reduced GST on selected snacks and exempted research funds for universities. A GoM has been formed to explore reducing tax rates on life and health insurance, and another to address compensation cess. The council received status reports on rate rationalization, real estate, and online gaming. Car seat GST increased to 28%, while RMPU air conditioners for railways and approved flying training courses were exempted from GST.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 4.40% to 13.61. The Nifty 26 September 2024 futures were trading at 25,067.95, at a premium of 27.4 points as compared with the spot at 25,040.55.

The Nifty option chain for the 26 September 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 58.6 lakh contracts at the 25,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 98.1 lakh contracts were seen at 25,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index added 1.07% to 23,256.60. The index shed 0.15% in the past three consecutive trading sessions.

Laurus Labs (up 3.86%), Divis Laboratories (up 3.45%), Gland Pharma (up 3%), Granules India (up 2.55%) and Ipca Laboratories (up 2.01%), Mankind Pharma (up 1.76%), Cipla (up 0.95%), Natco Pharma (up 0.94%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 0.93%) and Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries (up 0.9%) edged higher.

Stocks in Spotlight :

Dixon Technologies (India) rose 0.71%. The company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Padget Electronics (Padget) has entered into an MOU with HP India Sales for manufacturing electronic gadgets. Under this agreement, Padget Eelectronics will manufacture notebooks, desktops, and all-in-one PCs.

SEPC added 3.63% after the company announced that it has been awarded a work order for Rs 182.56 crore by the Executive Engineer, Irrigation Division, Government of Bihar. The project entails conducting a detailed survey and investigation, planning and designing, supplying materials, labor, equipment, and machinery, constructing, executing, and installing, testing, commissioning within 12 months, and providing a successful trial run for 3 months.

AGS Transact Technologies rallied 2.59% after the company has implemented and commenced managing the prepaid card platform for ‘XtraPower’, the fuel and fleet management program of Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL). The company will received a fixed fee for these services, generating an estimated revenue of approximately Rs 58 crore over five years.