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Indian equity benchmarks were trading at their day’s high points in afternoon deals tracking mostly positive cues from other Asian markets. Both the Sensex and Nifty recaptured their psychological 55500 and 16550 levels respectively. Meanwhile, broader indices were trading with gains in the range of 0.20-0.30%. Traders were getting encouragement with private report that after a better-than-expected response from players on the opening day, the 5G spectrum auctions entered the second day on Wednesday, with the fifth round of bidding currently underway. Firms run by tycoons Mukesh Ambani, Sunil Bharti Mittal and Gautam Adani as well as Vodafone Idea had put in bids of about Rs 1.45 lakh crore to buy fifth-generation (5G) airwaves on Tuesday. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green despite the broadly negative cues from US overnight, as traders looked ahead to the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision and accompanying statement later in the day. Back home, traders were seen piling up position in Capital Goods, Industrials, Healthcare, Basic Materials and IT, while selling was witnessed in Telecom, Auto and Power. Stock specific development, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) traded higher after it reported a good set of numbers for the quarter ended June 2022 (Q1FY23).

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 55576.45, up by 307.96 points or 0.56% after trading in a range of 55157.99 and 55580.60. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.27%, while Small cap index was up by 0.20%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.91%, Industrials up by 1.03%, Healthcare up by 1.01%, Basic Materials up by 0.70% and IT up by 0.66%, while Telecom down by 0.55%, Auto down by 0.16%, Power down by 0.05% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 2.82%, Sun Pharma up by 2.41%, Indusind Bank up by 1.86%, Axis Bank up by 1.51% and Hindustan Unilever up by 1.38%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.40%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.21%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.90%, Bajaj Finance down by 0.64% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.38% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, rating agency ICRA in its latest report has said that Indian pharmaceutical firms are likely to witness muted revenue growth from the US generics market in FY23 due to price erosion pressure. It said the US has always been a key market for Indian pharmaceutical companies but over the past few years, the revenues from there have grown at a relatively modest pace due to consistent pricing pressure, lack of major generic product launches, increased regulatory scrutiny.

According to the report, in FY22, the revenues from the US pharmaceutical market for its sample of eight leading Indian pharmaceutical companies declined marginally by 0.2 percent owing to high single-digit to low-teens price erosion. On the outlook, it expects mid to high single-digit price erosion to continue to exert pressure over the near term, resulting in muted revenue growth for the Indian pharmaceutical companies from the US generics market in FY23. Further, it said the impact of elevated raw material prices and packaging costs in addition to relatively higher freight rates and the impact of supply chain disruptions on their margins will remain key monitorable.

The report further said the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted the pace of approvals of Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDA) and revenue growth for companies in FY21, while pricing pressures impacted growth in FY22. With the USFDA unable to conduct physical inspections due to the pandemic-induced restrictions, both the pace of ANDA approvals and the issuance of warning letters to Indian pharmaceutical companies were lower over the past two years. However, it said the same is likely to pick up over the medium term as inspections gain traction.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16568.50, up by 84.65 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 16438.75 and 16570.60. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Larsen & Toubro up by 3.01%, Grasim Industries up by 2.55%, Divi's Lab up by 2.53%, Sun Pharma up by 2.20% and Indusind Bank up by 1.86%. On the flip side, UPL down by 1.89%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.67%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.37%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.32% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.10% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; Shanghai Composite added 2.20 points or 0.07% to 3,279.64, KOSPI gained 1.14 points or 0.05% to 2,414.10, Nikkei 225 surged 60.54 points or 0.22% to 27,715.75, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 114.81 points or 0.78% to 14,921.59 and Jakarta Composite soared 5.75 points or 0.08% to 6,877.29.

On the flip side,  Straits Times lost 0.36 points or 0.01% to 3,191.76 and Hang Seng decreased 235.93 points or 1.13% to 20,669.95.

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