Markets Rally On Back Of Pharma And Banking Stocks, Sensex Up 400 Points, Nifty Breaches 10,300-Mark

Glenmark Pharmaceutials surged 15 per cent, Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance both rose 5 per cent each to emerge as top gainers.

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New Delhi: Markets have continued its positive streaks and opened higher on Monday with Sensex gaining 400 points to touch 35,000-level while broader index Nifty also breached 10,300-mark on the back of top Sensex gainers Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharma, Power Grid and Bajaj Finance. Ultratech Cement, TCS, M&M and Tata Steel remain among the laggards. Bajaj twins including Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance rose 5 per cent each to emerge as top gainers. Reliance Industries jumped 2 per cent and cross $150 billion market capitalistaion. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani had announced that oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries has become net-debt free months ahead of its March 2021 target. Of the other stocks, Glenmark Pharmaceutials rose 15 per cent to Rs 470.45 after securing the drug regulator’s clearance for manufacturing and marketing the antiviral drug, Favipiravir in India. Also Read: From Indian Railways To State-Run Telecom Firms, India Boycotts China After Ladakh Face-Off Favipiravir is a Japanese flu drug manufactured by a subsidiary of Fujifilm. The medicine has proved helpful in treating patients with mild to moderate Covid-19 infection. The company will be initially catering to the domestic market requirements but may consider exporting which will depend on the regulatory requirements of other countries. Anther pharma major Cipla Ltd announced the launch of its generic version of remdesivir, which has been authorised for emergency use in treatment of covid-19 patients by the US FDA. The company will be able to seel and market it under the brand name Cipremi. The stock of Cipla rose as much as 9.2 percent to Rs 696 per share on BSE, its new 52-week high. Meanwhile, Asian stocks opened the week with marginal losses as investors closely watch the Covid-19 pandemic effect across the world. Japan’s Topix index was down 0.5 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.8 per cent, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 0.2 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng witnessed a decline of 0.30 per cent. Singapore's SGX Nifty fell 0.5 per cent hinting at a weak opening for Indian equity markets.  (With inputs from agencies)