Sell-off in pharma stocks: Sensex drops 274 points

Market highlights:

• Alembic Pharma tanks 11 per cent after a flop show in Q1
• Dr Reddy’s Labs plummet 10 per cent after Q1 margins disappoint
• Zomato plunges 7 per cent on profit-booking but UBS sees the stock at Rs 165
• Volatility indicator, India VIX surges 6 per cent on rising nervousness
• Metal stocks shine amid selloff; Nifty Metal top gainer

Among the blue-chip names, Hindalco was the top gainer, rising 4.32 per cent. SBI Life Insurance, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, SBI, Bajaj Finance and HDFC Life Insurance were the other gainers.

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories was the top loser in the Nifty pack, falling 10.31 per cent. Cipla, Axis Bank, Adani Ports, Divi’s Laboratories, Sun Pharma and Kotak Mahindra Bank were others that ended in the red.

Broader market indices ended lower, outperforming their headline peers. Nifty Smallcap fell 0.02 per cent and Nifty Midcap declined 0.043 per cent. Nifty 500, the broadest index on NSE, ended down 0.47 per cent.

APL Apollo, Welspun India, Happiest Minds Technologies, Manappuram Finance, JSW Energy and Pfizer were top gainers from mid and smallcap indices, climbing in the range of 6-9 per cent.

Glenmark Pharma, Ramco Cements, REC, Sun Pharma Advanced Research, Shilpa Medicare and Mishra Dhatu Nigam were major losers from broader market space, falling in the range of 3-8 per cent.