The key equity barometers declined further and hit fresh intraday lows in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded below the 15,900 mark. Pharma shares witnessed some bit of profit booking after a 2-day rally. Global cues were weak amid fears over rampant inflation. At 12:28 IST, the barometer index, S&P BSE Sensex was down by 1231.61 points or 2.27% to 52,976.92. The Nifty 50 index lost 367.75 points or 2.26% to 15,872.55. The broader market slumped. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slumped 2.36% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 2.06%.

Sellers outnumbered buyers. On the BSE, 738 shares rose while 2,245 shares fell. A total of 110 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 8.09% to 24.10. The Nifty 26 May 2022 futures were trading at 15,834 at a discount of 38.55 points as compared with the spot at 15,872.55.

The Nifty option chain for the 26 May 2022 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 43.1 lakh contracts at the 17,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 44.8 lakh contracts was seen at 16,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index declined 1.73% to 12,658.25. The index had gained 2.17% in the past two sessions.

Strides Pharma (down 5.80%), Aurobindo Pharma (down 5.24%), Glenmark Pharma (down 3.11%), Zydus Lifesciences (down 2.91%), Torrent Pharma (down 2.49%), Divi's Labs (down 2.16%), Natco Pharma (down 2.10%), Sun Pharma (down 1.86%), Cipla (down 1.66%) and Alkem Laboratories (down 1.28%) declined.

Lupin slumped 7.18% to Rs 634.25. The company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 518 crore in Q4 FY22 as against a net profit of Rs 460.4 crore in Q4 FY21. Income from operations rose by 2.8% YoY to Rs 3,864.5 crore during the quarter.

Biocon fell 3.21% to Rs 327. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved a proposed deal involving Serum Institute Life Sciences, Covidshield Technologies and Biocon Biologics.

Covidshield Technologies, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Serum Institute of Life Sciences, will be merged into Biocon Biologics. Once the deal is complete, Serum Institute Life Sciences Pvt Ltd will have about 15 per cent stake in Biocon Biologics Ltd, according to the notice filed with the regulator.

Granules India tumbled 5.06% to Rs 249.80. The drug maker reported a 13% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 111 crore in Q4 FY22 from Rs 128 crore posted in Q4 FY21. Consolidated income from operations grew by 29% year on year to Rs 1,030 crore in Q4 FY22 as compared to Rs 799 crore posted in Q4 FY21, across all geographies and segments.