Indian share markets ended broadly flat on Thursday amid weak Asian markets. At the closing bell, BSE Sensex ended up by 51 points, while, NSE Nifty ended up by 12 points.

Sectoral indices ended the day on a mixed note with information technology stocks and FMCG stocks leading the gainers. While metal stocks and bank stocks ended the day in the red.

Globally, Asian stock markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.4% and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.2%. The Hang Seng lost 0.5%. European markets are higher today with shares in London leading the region. The FTSE 100 is up 0.4% while France’s CAC 40 is up 0.2% and Germany’s DAX is up 0.1%.

The rupee was trading at Rs 70.07 against the US$ in the afternoon session.

Reliance Industries share price today became the first company to cross Rs 8 trillion in terms of market capitalization. The company’s market capitalization stood at Rs 8.01 trillion.

In the news from the pharma sector. As per an article in a leading financial daily, Dr. Reddy’s Lab has informed that its API Srikakulam Plant (SEZ) in Andhra Pradesh has received an Establishment Inspection Report (BIR) from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).

This implies the closure of the audit at this facility. This facility had completed the USFDA audition with zero observations in June 2018.

Meanwhile, Torrent Pharmaceuticals is recalling 14 lots of tablets used for the treatment of high blood pressure and heart failure from the US market due to the presence of an impurity.

The voluntarily recall of Valsartan/ Amlodipine/ HCTZ tablets to the consumer level is due to the detection of trace amounts of an unexpected impurity found in an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufactured by Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals.

Speaking of the pharma sector, the BSE Healthcare Index has been on a roller coaster ride in the past few years. The period from 2012 to 2015 saw the index go up more than three times. Since then it has been a painful ride downwards.