However, the API sale process, which was launched a couple of months ago, has seen no serious buyers, added multiple people aware of the development. The company has been seeking a valuation of $600-700 million (₹5,000 crore) for the API business and hired Jefferies to run the sale process.

Valuations in the listed API space have experienced huge price corrections, making them appear attractive, according to Cyndrella Carvalho, Vice President - Healthcare/Pharma Lead, Institutional Research, JM Financial. However, Carvalho added that one or two more quarters are needed for supplies to normalize in the API market to give a clearer understanding of the supply-demand scenario.

"The Nifty witnessed an extremely volatile day of trade on Friday. It was consolidating in a narrow range during the first half of the session. However, as the day progressed and especially during the last couple hours of the trading session the Nifty witnessed intense selling pressure which dragged the Nifty lower to close with a cut of 132 points," Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas said.

Brokerage firm Kotak Institutional Equities has retained a "reduce" rating on Biocon Ltd (BIOS) and lowered its target price to Rs 210 from Rs 240 earlier.

The Future & Options contracts of any stock enter the ban period when the open interest (OI) on it crosses 95% of the market-wide positions limits or MWPL. The ban on it is reversed only if the open interest falls below 80%.

Joshi also led the Finacle banking platform business and AI automation portfolio for Infosys. He was also responsible for the companys internal Chief Investment Officer (CIO) function and Infosys Knowledge Institute and held executive responsibility for large deals across the company.

"The daily momentum indicator triggered a fresh positive crossover on Wednesday, which is a buy signal. Also, we believe that the pullback is not yet complete and we expect it to continue over the next few trading sessions," Gedia said.

Asian stocks struggled Thursday in the wake of a slump on Wall Street after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen rattled bank shares and the Federal Reserve pushed back against bets for interest rate cuts this year. Benchmark indexes fell in Japan, South Korea and Australia while a gauge of US-listed Chinese companies fell earlier.

"We expect the positive momentum to continue over the next few trading sessions. On the hourly charts we can observe positive divergence along with a positive crossover on the momentum indicator which indicates loss of momentum on the downside and shall provide speed to the current pullback," Gedia said.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is also trading above the 60 mark which is a bullish sign. Volumes are on the rise suggesting that this rally has legs to move up in the short to medium term.

"We advise investors to remain cautious, as markets are likely to remain volatile ahead of the Fed's meeting outcome on Wednesday late evening. US Feds commentary amidst the ongoing financial crisis would be of key importance and can provide some direction to the markets," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

“It closed on a negative note though well off the intraday lows indicating buying interest at lower levels. On the hourly charts, we can observe that the momentum indicator has triggered a positive crossover which is a buy signal. Thus, we expect the Nifty to continue with the positive momentum which has started during the second half of Mondays trading session for the next trading session as well,” Gedia said.

"The market is now awaiting the outcome of the Fed meeting to see how they will respond to the ongoing crisis, particularly in terms of rate hikes. Investors expect the central bank to raise interest rates by 0–25 basis points," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

The stock traded off recently, making short-term valuations much more compelling. The stock has corrected by over 28% on a year-to-date basis compared to the 2.8% fall seen in the S&P BSE Sensex.

In the Nifty pack, 37 stocks closed in the green, while 13 stocks ended in the red.

The Nifty Pharma Index fell about 6% so far this year on a year-to-date basis. The price pressure in US generic market is seen as a key drag for the sector

Hindustan Aeronautics has an order book position of Rs 84,000 crore and another Rs 50,000 crore worth of orders are in the pipeline. The PSU company, one of the largest aerospace and defence manufacturers in the world, designs and manufactures aircraft, helicopters, power plants, inertial navigation system and other key equipment.

According to Nuvama, Adani Enterprises may see outflows worth $102 million while HCL Tech, Jindal Steel, Shriram Finance will see outflows of $95 million, $19 million and $15 million respectively. On the other hand, weight reduction in ACC will lead to outflows worth $11 million

Over a fourth of BSE500 companies have fallen more than 30% in the past year and half of the index constituents are down over 30% from their 2-year highs

Sharekhan is bullish on Biocon has recommended buy rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 266 in its research report dated February 21, 2023.

Biocon, incorporated in the year 1978, is a Large Cap company (having a market cap of Rs 26389.19 Crore) operating in Pharmaceuticals sector.

Eshwar Karra, CEO – Kotak Special Situations Fund at Kotak Investment Advisors said, We are delighted to partner with Biocon and this acquisition financing supports Biocons journey of becoming a world leading, fully integrated biosimilars enterprise.

The stocks included in the large-cap index are ACC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Canara Bank, IDBI Bank, YES Bank, Union Bank, Indian Hotels, Jindal Steel & Power, Shriram Finance, Trent, and Tube Investments. One97 Communications, Biocon, Godrej Properties, Jubilant FoodWorks, Piramal Enterprises, and Sona BLW are the six stocks excluded from the large-cap index.

Given the multiple near-term levers, enviable biosimilars pipeline, strengthening of leadership teams, favourable valuation and marquee investors backing, JM strongly believes the company is well poised to turn the tide in its favour.

A one-time loss of Rs 271 crore during the quarter, mainly owing to professional fees paid for the acquisition of the global biosimilars business of American company Viatris, triggered the loss

Given the multiple near-term levers, enviable biosimilars pipeline, strengthening of leadership teams, favourable valuation and marquee investors backing, JM strongly believes the company is well poised to turn the tide in its favour.

JP Morgan on Tata Steel and SAIL said, "Investor sentiment remains bearish on metals, lacking a meaningful demand recovery in China. Either steel prices need a rally or coking coal prices need to fall. Indian steel mills are well positioned".

“The highest R&D spends will always happen in biologics because the highest cost of R&D spend is in clinical trials. As we move forward, there are indications that we can shrink the clinical trials to smaller and smaller cohorts as the regulatory agencies and the markets become more mature in terms of biosimilars. We expect the R&D spends to reduce from current levels.”

The biggest contribution came from the biosimilars business, which reported a 54% increase in revenues to Rs 1,507 crore. Research Services revenues (Syngene) rose 23% YoY to Rs 786 crore and generics business revenues grew 18% YoY to Rs 718 crore.

The profit was also impacted due to dilution of Biocons stake in Biocon Biologics and Syngene. Net profit for the quarter, excluding an exceptional item, stood at Rs 140 crore

MSCI has marginally increased the weights of Reliance Industries, HDFC, Infosys, ICICI Bank, and TCS. The other stocks where outflows could be seen due to a reduction in weightage include HCL Technologies ($97 million), Jindal Steel & Power ($19 million), Shriram Finance ($14 million), and ACC ($12 million), according to Nuvama.