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Shares fall as pharma stocks weigh; Pfizer Indian unit jumps
The blue chip NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.30% to 17,863.05 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.29% to 59,895.40 by 0401 GMT.
Shares fell on Monday, weighed down by losses in pharmaceutical stocks, although shares of Pfizer Inc's Indian arm jumped on positive data for the parent firm's experimental pill against Covid-19.
The blue chip NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.30% to 17,863.05 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.29% to 59,895.40 by 0401 GMT.
Markets had gained in Thursday's special one-hour trading session and were shut on Friday for the festive season of Diwali.
On Monday, shares of Pfizer Ltd gained as much as 8.3% after its parent said on Friday that its experimental Covid-19 antiviral pill cut by 89% the chance of hospitalization or death for adults at risk of severe disease.
The Nifty Pharma Index lost 1.97%, weighed down by a 7.9% fall in active pharmaceutical ingredient maker Divi's Laboratories, despite the company posting strong September-quarter results on Saturday.
Divi's makes the API for generic versions of Pfizer rival Merck's Covid-19 antiviral pill molnupiravir.
Broader Asian markets were mixed as investors looked ahead to a reading on US inflation later in the week.
