Indian shares reverse gains as metals drag; Cadila jumps

BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian shares reversed course to trade lower on Monday as metal stocks tumbled, while drugmaker Cadila Healthcare jumped nearly 8% after its COVID-19 vaccine was approved by the country for emergency use.

By 0520 GMT, the blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index was down 0.32% at 16,398.30, after rising as much as 0.86%. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.01% to 55,321.86, having gained as much as 0.82%.

The Nifty Metal index — which had scaled peaks last week — dropped 2.7% to be the worst-performing sub-index as losses in Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and Power, and Steel Authority of India weighed.

The Nifty IT index held on to gains and was up 1.6%, led by shares of Mphasis, MindTree and HCL Technologies.

As a sector, IT (information technology) has been outperforming the market, AK Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital, said, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic-led shift of focus to working from home had boosted order books of IT firms.

Pharma stocks, after rising as much as 1.46% due to a boost from Cadila, were flat. India’s drug regulator on Friday granted emergency use approval for the company’s DNA COVID-19 vaccine — the world’s first such shot against the novel coronavirus — in adults and children above 12 years.

Aurobindo Pharma jumped as much as 6.6% after scrapping a deal to acquire a 51% stake in Cronus Pharma Specialities.

Meanwhile, Indian central bank’s minutes from its latest monetary policy committee meeting — released on Friday — showed that the COVID-19-hit economy still required support and that it was watchful of inflationary pressures.

Among broader markets, Asian shares bounced as a wave of bargain hunting swept beaten-down markets and China reported no new locally acquired COVID-19 cases for the first time since July. [MKTS/GLOB]

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